Learning From What Came Before

This Guest Post is by Ali Taha. Ali was a member of Pens Around the World between 2021 and 2022.

I recently finished Lawrence Weschler’s book, Everything that Rises. Throughout the book, Weschler connects seemingly disparate works of art, political figures, and historical events, describing how the people at the center of each are impacted, consciously or (more likely) unconsciously, by the same things—the history of images and ideas that have made their way into the public consciousness.

Take the image below, for example.

This melded image of Monica Lewinsky and Mona Lisa found its way onto the cover of The New Yorker in 1999. Shortly after its release, many artists came forward saying they had created such an image much earlier.

The creator of the image, Dean Rohrer, argued that the idea had come to him independently, “by the naggingly familiar smile plastered across the face of a single particular news photo of Ms. Lewinsky.”

Interestingly, in March 1999, a month after the cover was published, Monica Lewinsky sat down with Barbara Walters for an interview. This was the official portrait released:

Lewinsky’s pose looks awfully familiar… like a painting.

Weschler’s book is full of these types of imitations: life imitating art, and artists, consciously or unconsciously, imitating the types of art that came before them. I think there is an important lesson to be learned from these examples. Creative inspiration is a confluence of many things we are exposed to in our day-to-day lives: culture, politics, art, and the history of literally everything. History plays a big role in originality—learning from the past allows us to build upon it and create something new.

For writers, imitation can be a useful tool that frees us from the worry of needing to create something 100% original.

Imitating writing you love or are affected deeply by not only helps you gain inspiration, but also teaches you skills and techniques the author uses. It’s a great example of learning by doing.

Here are three imitation exercises you can try out:

1) Write a “missing piece” of your favourite book, screenplay, or poem.

2) Rewrite a piece of work you admire. Try your best to write from memory.

3) Read your favourite writers out loud and pay attention to how the sentences flow together. 

And while you’re working through these exercises, remember that imitation should be seen as practice. You shouldn’t publish these attempts or try to convince others that they are yours. Imitation is meant to help you find your voice, not steal another’s.

All the best, and good luck!