Process – Osayi Endolyn

Category Archives: Process

Ira Glass on storytelling

Jan 16, 2012

If you clicked through to read this, you probably already know who Ira Glass is and why so many people love him and his work. If you ventured over anyway and have no clue, please allow me a brief introduction.

Ira is the host and executive producer of This American Life, a fabulous radio show that has serious problems describing itself. Basically they search all over the country (and sometimes beyond) looking for real, good stories told by engaging, real people and usually each episode has a theme. It rocks. Also, Ira is cousin to composer Philip Glass, for whom people either swoon or harbor deep resentment, due to his unique approach to classical music. But back to Ira.

Recently I came across this video, a text-animated version of Ira talking about telling good stories. The content here is edited from a recording via Current TV and Public Radio International. This clip spoke to me because for one, I’m very interested in process and so often, creative people fail to discuss it publicly. I think mostly because talking about process requires avid discussion of failure, and few of us find pleasure in talking about our failures unless we have a huge success on the horizon that makes it all worthwhile. Second, more and more the art and craft of storytelling has become for me, one of our most meaningful abilities as human beings. Like, it’s what gets me going in the morning. So it’s encouraging to hear from such a bonafide pro on perhaps, the lesser-known, but still ubiquitous aspects of the form.

For your listening pleasure:

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

You can watch the full videos on YouTube. Although, if you’re like me, you might have to close your eyes. After so many years of hearing Ira’s voice on the radio (or podcast), completely isolated to auditory sensations, it’s just weird to watch him talk. I mean, even when they had the This American Life TV show, Ira was only on screen for a few minutes. Enjoy!

By Osayi | Posted in Inspiration, | Tagged Ira Glass, Storytelling, This American Life | Comments (2)

Organization breeds creativity

Apr 26, 2011

Yesterday, Anne and I did a little moving around in my living room. This is what happens when you are friends with a designer. Over a glass of wine at 10 p.m., a problem wall becomes an opportunity, and you start dragging furniture across the floor.

Now the records aren’t totally run amok, and there’s a spirit of cohesion. Records still run amok elsewhere in the house, but that’s for another day. There was just far too much action going on before, the whole wall was overrun from adding things over time without a clear vision. There’s still a lot to look at, but we like it that way.

This morning I sat on the futon, rested my toes on that gorgeous coffee table which Anne rehab-ed (she is just so awesome), and gazed across the room to a wall of inspiration. It’s amazing how much work you can get done when you are in a happy space.

By Osayi | Tagged Home | Comments Off

Everyday should be flan day

Apr 04, 2011

This day was a very long time coming. Anne’s great-grandmother is from Cuba, and she makes the best flan. You’ve all had flan, right? Some people call it crème caramel. Around here it’s called flan, pronounced flahne.

You know how Americans debate on whose mom makes the best pumpkin pie or apple pie? That’s how flan is, too. And I’ve eaten a lot of flan, and let me tell you, all flan is not made equal. So how does Anne’s abuela get the flan to be so good? Practice, patience and love. That’s all.

The only sad thing about flan day is that the thing has to cool, and you can’t rush it, no matter how great it smells. Anne and I both had things to run off and finish, so a photo of the final product (and a slice for the photographer) will be forthcoming.

The lesson of the day: it’s not so much about what you put into the flan that makes it special — it’s the way you go about bringing the ingredients together that makes the difference. I’ll be applying this philosophy liberally, especially today, as I deal with some not-nice people on some not-fun issues. Wasn’t there a time when you could bring someone a baked good, and it would all work out fine?

By Osayi | Posted in Friends, | Tagged Cooking, Flan | Comments Off

Small, dark places

Apr 01, 2011

Are nice places to get work done…

Or forget about work that’s not finished.

And eavesdrop on conversations. The nice thing about being mobile while working is you’re around other people doing interesting things. You can’t help but be nosy when you’re sharing a power outlet right next to that designer, musician, retired couple or restauranteur, chatting with each other or having a “private” conversation on the cell.

This one woman has had it with her job. I mean, she has really had it — she’s complaining about her boss, who apparently always changes her mind after the team has put in the work. Sounds annoying, but her friend seems to be experiencing the bitch-fest for the umpteenth time. I feel bad for the friend. The boss sounds bad, but the complaining seems worse.

This one guy is having trouble with his investment broker. Evidently, there is an issue with some trade he made that either didn’t go through or wasn’t supposed to go through when it did. He’s really confused and wants the representative on the other side of the phone to do something about it. Like, right now.

Cozy spots to work and play trigger me creatively in a way that I can’t recreate at home. That’s not to say I can’t write chez moi. There’s just an energy — an urgency — you get from being in the presence of others. I think we all feed off of one another, even if we’re not communicating directly. Like we’re all wireless, tapping into the same network.

Makes me wonder if what I’m writing changes as a result of my environment changing — because a person walks by me, or because the couple sitting next to me hasn’t spoken to each other in over 30 minutes.

I wonder …

By Osayi | Tagged Coffee, Workspace | Comments Off

Humble pie

Mar 30, 2011

Last week I started class at the Alliance Française to prepare for my summer adventures.

Man, was I rusty. Hopefully that will be as painful as it will ever be during the next nine weeks of this conversation course. I’ve joined a class that’s been together for a while now — people who take French to practice, for work, or to prepare for travel.

Although it’s an advanced level class, everyone is operating with their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s great to converse with people who are trying just as hard as you are, and have an interest in you getting to the next niveau in your skill.

Here’s the thing. I started taking French in the 7th grade and I’ve had French every year through college, and even ended up majoring in it (totally useful degree). When I moved to Atlanta, to meet people, I did an internship at the AF and got more real-life practice (and free classes!). But for the past 5 years I have barely spoken a lick, save a few random occurrences at L’Atmosphère, with Anne, or my aunt, who I used to practice with all the time in LA. Not enough.

I won’t say I made an ass of myself, because I didn’t. I understood just about everything and held my own pretty well — except for this one article we discussed, where I confused melatonin for melanin and thought a conversation on sleep was about tanning. Yeah. I like to think my mistakes endear me to others. Not a lot of room for ego in language-learning.

So I am committing to reading in French, 5 hours per week. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s something. I am reading over 2000 pages this quarter in school. After I got to 2000, I stopped counting, so 5 hours is the best I can do. I’ll be looking at Garance Doré’s blog and news sites like this and this. That’s how we develop as speakers, even in our native tongue — my mom put book after book in my hand. And all good writers are voracious readers. So, voilà.

And it’s interesting to me, the way language affects your outlook on life and the creation of art. When things are said differently, they mean something else — to understand a culture is to really understand how they say things. Like, the French use the passive voice much more than we do. And they will always give up a grammatical rule to make a sentence sound prettier. What does that tell you? That the language evokes a people concerned with the way things sound and feel, more than the black and white basics? Maybe.

When they say “I miss you” or tu me manques, it really translates to “You miss me.” But it means the same thing. Kind of. When speaking in French you have to think in French, and that’s the part that’s hard; that’s the part you forget over time if you don’t use it. But that’s what I love about the French (if I can make such a generalization), and from the process of learning another language. You just have to come at everything a different way.

By Osayi | Posted in Outings, | Tagged Alliance Francaise, French, Garance Doré, Learning | Comments (3)

Finally, a musical offering

Aug 19, 2010

A couple of years ago, I started writing songs. It’s all those morning pages from The Artist’s Way. God bless Moleskine journals.

Shyly, secretly, I would sing a few bars into a handheld tape recorder (yes they still make those), then bury the loaded cassette in some drawer or file cabinet.

After a while, some of the emotional angst dissipated, and I began developing the bars into verse/chorus/verse, etc. Soon I had whole song structures, minus accompanying music, just my voice serving as the melody. Then I got up the nerve to share some of my music with real-life people — as opposed to my plants, who I must say found me absolutely sensational.

There’s been a lot of encouragement coming my way, from Darryl and Anne and other sweet gems. When I went to Los Angeles, I got a nice kick in the pants. I met up with some of my dearest friends, including the lovely Novena Carmel, also delightfully known as Babystone.

Novena is a ham, plus she’s also incredibly bright and insightful, so she makes a great idea bouncer-offer. We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together, but after our pow-wow, I left pretty clear — I’m going to record an EP.

If you don’t know, an EP is old-school speak for a short album. So something like four to six tracks. In many ways, recording artists find EP’s more difficult to produce because you’re not jam-packing a CD with fifteen pieces. When you have such a small amount of material, every note counts, one could argue.

This is kind of a relaxed excitement for me, since I’m not currently pursuing music as a career. The music swimming in my head each morning that I offload on to my mp3 recorder (moving up in the world), is a natural expression, not a business pursuit. For me, this takes some of the pressure off. I’m doing it because I wanna. That’s all.

So far, it has a bluesy, country feel. I’ve noticed this sets people back a bit. I understand. In this music landscape (or crisis), it’s hard to avoid pigeon-holing people. It’s hard to not be duped by the mainstream, duped into thinking all black women sing like Etta James, or Chaka Khan or Beyonce. I’ll explain.

Credit: Bill Carrier, © API photographers Inc.

When Darryl and I were in Memphis last year, we visited the Stax Records Musuem, the classic soul record label that brought us Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and The Staple Singers among many others. Before beginning the tour, you watch a 20-minute documentary on the history of the label, to put what you’re about to see in context. Through interviews with artists, you see that many black artists of that time period, specifically in Memphis, grew up listening to white acts singing at the Grand Ole Opry.

That is, many R&B/soul singers were influenced by country music. Conversely, many white musicians of that era were equally influenced by black gospel sounds, the beginnings of jazz and so on. It was a natural outcome of the communities being so closely tied together, and yet, so far apart. Blues, R&B, country, jazz — none of it would have become as rich and full of depth, without the contributions of both communities — both experiences. Set aside the tales of business tactics. I’m talking about music that moved people to create something new. That’s beautiful. Consider my forthcoming EP an iteration of that collaborative history. A little Roberta Flack, a little Hank Williams, if you will.

I don’t know how far off the completion date will be, as I’m still churning out melodies and lyrics, but I wanted to share anyway. I’m working on singing live here and there. Maybe they will let me hold a concert at Ivy Hall once I start at SCAD? Eh? Just putting it out there, I mean songwriting is writing!

By Osayi | Posted in Friends, Music, Projects, | Comments Off

Jumping in head first

Aug 12, 2010

Dear Universe — please fast forward to September 13 so I can start my writing program. Thanks.

As I approach (with much anticipation) the start of my MFA, Maureen Dowd’s column on roommate selection in yesterday’s New York Times took me back to my freshman year of college.

Dowd was turned off by an article in The Wall Street Journal that reported many entering freshmen are utilizing various social network applications to find a roommate that is ~~more~~ exactly like them.

Eh, I can empathize, I’ve certainly heard some horror stories. My college roommate experience was a dream. I adore those girls and we had the best time. And I still love the front door we collectively decorated.

Naomi (l), Maiya (r)

I’m glad I didn’t muddle with the process — I got the perfect roommates — they taught me so much and we’re still friends today. Naomi with all her books and cassette tapes, Maiya with her Dave Matthews Band obsession. Dowd’s column reminded me of how open I was to allowing the process to unfold. I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t expect anything. Sure, there was the rare entanglement. I can be pretty scary when my sleep is disrupted, and let’s just say I kept an abnormal shut-eye schedule. But as memory serves, things never got too weird, and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Now that I’m entering graduate school, I’m finding it a tad more difficult to let things flow. At this point in my life I do have very clear expectations and there is a fire lit under my arse called “7.9% unsubsidized interest.” It would be very easy for me to cross that line from being an enthusiastic and well-prepared student to being a controlling, anxious crazy biatch. For example, here are a few late night questions that cross my mind:

Why haven’t the books I need for Fall quarter posted online?
What if I don’t find what I need by when I need to read it
Why is orientation just two days before classes start?
Can I email my professor and ask…I don’t know what to ask, I just want to ask something!

Perhaps what keeps me from indulging in all that madness is the high level of genuine excitement I get every time I receive a piece of mail from SCAD.

I just got my schedule and I am pumped. Wanna know what I’m taking?

Nonfiction I
This course is designed so I can work my own stuff. That’s the jam! The focus is on mastering my own writing voice and we’ll all be presenting our pieces and discussing each other’s work. I want to use this class to really give my military project a kick in the pants.

The Publishing Process
What a concept! A writing program with a course on publishing. Believe it or not, this is a rarity in MFA writing programs. Here we’ll be writing query letters, book proposals, and submitting work to real-life editors (gasp!). The class is set up like an editorial meeting. Scary? Uh-huh. Do I care? Nooo. Yessss. Look, I’ve already got a hall of fame for my rejection letters so bring it on.

Persuasive Writing
This course sounds amazing. It takes the premise that effective persuasive writing is a major component of visual forms (like in advertising) and we’ll get to explore the relationship writing has with promotional materials, design, advertising, etc. Mad Men, watch out…

By Osayi | Posted in Projects, SCAD, | Comments Off

Give me a (daiquiri) break

Aug 06, 2010

Having deadlines while on vacation is wrong. It’s also poor planning and it’s all my fault. Enter a blender wielding stepfather to the rescue!

It always starts with Mother Nature. That makes me feel better.

Go Joe! Go Joe!

Yay for strawberry daiquiris! Isn’t he grand? Joe is such a trooper, he never seems to run out of energy always hopping up to take care of something for somebody. My mom is a lucky lady. So is the rest of my family.

Back to work!

By Osayi | Posted in Family, | Comments (3)

How the universe gives a smackdown

May 05, 2010

This is how it goes.

I was working on an essay for a scholarship. Or, as some writers like to say, it was working on me. I was stuck. What I love most about writing is the discovery. What I dislike most about writing is the lack of control one has over when that discovery chooses to reveal itself. Like when one has a deadline. I expect I will get better at this over the next couple of years. I hope and pray.

Thinking I had a slam dunk with this essay (“Please address how your unique cultural heritage has made an impact on your art”), I set forth to weave a narrative on a life full of rich, artistic gems. I’ve had so many amazing experiences and influences, the trouble comes in narrowing it down, not dreaming it up. But, the unexpected happened. I started to remember. I started to remember a lot.

It’s been like a screaming smoke alarm – even if you find the heat source, that whoop-whoop-whoop noise still carries on. This is how it started (straight from draft):

For most of my childhood, I didn’t see or experience much difference between me and the other kids. My neighbors were all about my age, we went to the same school, and had similar interests. I, along with my Los Angeles-born mother, my Nigerian father and my younger brother lived in Clovis, a central California suburb of Fresno, where a statue of Festus from Gunsmoke held court in the downtown district. We lived at the end of a giant cul-de-sac, in a newly built house where I finally had my own room. My memories of the firm brown carpet and high windows of Berkeley’s graduate student family housing faded like smoke in the wind when I first took in that wide space with so much light it hurt my eyes.

It has not stopped. The flow of memories. And I don’t want them to stop. I can see that cul-de-sac bright as day. I just want to know where it’s going. I have an outline for this essay, and I can’t get to what the scholarship committee really wants to know, because I keep recollecting:

One afternoon a man from the zoo came to show the class his arsenal of reptiles. He talked about the unique characteristics and habits of each one, then asked who wanted to hold one. Not a soul raised their hand. And then, I did. He welcomed me up to the stage and handed me a grey garter snake. The room was absolutely silent. I felt it sliding back and forth between my plams and around my forearm. I grinned. Suddenly, all the boys wanted their turn, their hands shooting up like arrows in battle.

I was happy to be recreating these moments, certain they’d come to good use later. La-ter. But in that moment, I wanted to talk about something else. But the whoop-whoop-whooping continued. I was stuck at being unstuck. Here I am trying to anchor myself, I thought, and it’s as though God is saying, Get thine ass off the boat.

Well, screw you.

This is how it went.

You don’t wanna play by my rules? Fine. I won’t write! Ha!

I went for the first book that caught my eye, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I bought it for a class in college, and the peeling sticker on the bind still reads “Textbooks from YOUR bookstore.” It’s a used copy, littered with the comments and underlinings of some previous owner. I got myself all wrapped up in Angelou’s vivid stories of life in 1930s Arkansas and St. Louis.

And then.

I Googled “life art influence Maya Angelou” and came upon an NPR interview in which she quotes a striking poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Conscientious Objector: I shall die, but / that is all I shall do for Death.”

I Googled more about Ms. Edna, and came upon this site featuring two Iraq war veterans committed to sharing peace and love in their own way.

Intrigued by their words and actions, particularly given my interest in all things military, I walked over to my new-to-me ancient copy of Men at War. Edited by Ernest Hemingway, it’s a a compilation of powerful pieces intended to help prepare the WWII GI.

>I opened it up at random, to the beginning of Waterloo by Victor Hugo (from Les Misérables). As I read: “Waterloo is not a battle; it is a transformation on the part of the Universe.”

Returning to my desk, thanking sweet Mary for keeping me far from any place where there are 60+ canons, back to this elusive scholarship essay, I reviewed what I had typed. All of it – down to the last sentence where my cursor blinked expectantly:

“…it has been more of a cosmic transformation, than a self-defined statement, as I’ve become aware of what has always been…as though I just had to stop fighting what had always been apparent and accept that I, too could be holding one missing piece of the puzzle.”

Yeah. No kidding. It may be a stretch, but I got the point.

Back to work.

By Osayi | Posted in Inspiration, Military, Mind-Full, SCAD, | Comments (2)

Coming this fall

Apr 27, 2010

I just realized after all of my hand-wringing, I didn’t share the good news — I was accepted into the Writing Master of Fine Arts program at Savannah College of Art and Design!

I start this September, and I just can’t wait.

I’m looking forward to spending a great deal of time at the main campus on Peachtree.

(source)

And here:

Ivy Hall (source)

SCAD has campuses in Savannah, Atlanta, France, and Hong Kong. I’ll be in Atlanta, but I would love to take an excursion here or there. The writing center is a beautiful historical building in Midtown called Ivy Hall. You can read all about the amazing restoration of this 128-year old building here and get more details on the history, tours and upcoming events href=”http://www.artofrestoration.org/ivyhall/ivyhall.cfm”>here.

You can get it on some of the exciting events happening at SCAD Style Week – April 26-May 6. Free lectures, panels, book-signings and talks with successful professionals from various ends of the art industry.

I’m particularly interested in Why One-of-a-Kind Matters, a panel discussion featuring Vanessa Bertozzi, Director of Communications for Etsy. Wanna join? Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 12:30 pm, SCAD Atlanta Welcome Center.

This week I’m focusing on how to best prepare for my re-entry into academia. I’ve set up a writing schedule for my military project and have some upcoming interviews and (self-imposed) research deadlines to meet. I also have the pleasure of meeting with a couple of professors, who I can’t wait to get to know better. So nice to live with purpose and direction. I love when things fall into place. Just about makes up for the times it feels like nothing is working. I’m on a mission!

By Osayi | Posted in In Person, Military, Projects, SCAD, | Comments (6)