It's easy to forget the power of making art for art's sake in a world of formulas, templates, and hacks. Of constructing something beautiful from a jumble of words and piles of letters.

I saw a wonderful quote from musician Nick Cave this morning. It was in response to an artist who had been told their work needed to revolve around the larger socio-political discourse. That's a perfect recipe for cooking up something full of empty calories. It might incite anger or reinforce the viewer's current opinions, but it won't actually move them. There's rarely much entertainment or education in these sorts of hot takes.

So here’s to art, Isabella! Here’s to freedom! Send your well-connected artist packing and continue to listen to your own thundering heart. That awesome sound you hear is the trembling of true art as it rumbles and calls to your very soul.

It can be a powerful action, this refusal to break. Not everything has to be "3 reasons why X does Y." Those are fun to write and can be valuable, but you know what else makes money?

Authentic writing at the intersection of what you know a lot about & what you love.

Which one do you think will prove more sustainable in the long term?