There are a few quotes that are used often and have been attributed to several people. One of them is: ‘If it is truly yours, it will come back to you.’ There was one presenter who thought it was written by Ian Fleming for James Bond in some film. Many think it is Richard Bach who wrote this. It does not matter. What matters is how well one understands the line. Let me try and write about writers and poets and link this line to the way they went about writing and publishing their creative work.
It is believed that Margaret Mitchell never intended to publish ‘Gone With The Wind’ but a friend convinced her to do so. By the way, even this 1937 Pulitzer Award winner got rejection slips but was eventually accepted. This incident tells us how destiny leads success back to those who weren’t even actively chasing it. There is even a line by Margaret that probably reflects her thoughts after getting rejection slips for her book: ‘Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.’
Success may not come immediately, but if a story or a novel or a collection of poems is valuable, it will eventually return to claim its rightful place. F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing he was a failure because ‘The Great Gatsby’ got mixed reviews and sold poorly after publication in 1925. I have read this book thrice, listened to it twice on Audible and agree with those who it one of the greatest American novels. Even Fitzgerald, the writer, wrote a line that resonates with the quote I have begun this post with: ‘Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.’
There is a well-known incident where Stephen King threw away his manuscript of ‘Carrie’ assuming it wasn’t as great as he would want it to be. But Tabitha King, his wife, literally retrieved it from the trashcan and egged him on to complete it. This novel went on to become his career breakthrough which simply means that when self-doubt causes a writer to abandon a project, it (the project) will defy his intention and find a way back. The project or that poem, novel, or story probably knows it is destined to succeed. Was this fact perceived by Stephen King when he wrote: ‘Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.’ I guess, such things happen because it is true that what is yours (success of ‘Carrie’ written by Stephen King in this case) will come back, even if discarded.
Even ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ by J.K. Rowling faced 12 rejections until it reached Bloomsbury. This incident reflects what Rowling herself wrote: ‘It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all.’ It is again a repeat of what I have been saying all along – if something is meant for you, it will return. Despite obstacles. Despite rejections.
Thre are a few incidents from the lives of poets that reflects the notion of what is to be, will be… the love story of John Keats and Fanny Browne reflects love beyond death. Keats fell deeply in love with Fanny but his illness made them part and he had to leave for Italy, knowing he would never return. It is believed that Fanny mourned him for years after he died while in Italy and cherished his poetry and letters. The words of Keats, in a way, had found their way to her… ‘a thing of beauty is a joy forever…’
Many love reading the poetry of Emily Dickinson but not many know that only a handful of the nearly 1800 poems that she wrote were published during her lifetime. Emily lived in obscurity, believing her words might never find an audience. Yet, decades after her death, her poetry returned to the world to make her one of the most celebrated poets. Hat she wrote sounds prophetic:
‘This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me…’
Whatever needs to be there for the future will be there, including fame, even though it may arrive late.
W.B. Yeats loved Maud Gonne passionately, but she remained cold towards him… yet, she remained his muse and inspired him write. It was through the spirit of those verses that Maud always remained with Yeats, though in reality she remained unresponsive to his love. Yeats wrote of lost love:
‘Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone…’
I believe that writers worrying over book sales and book promotions need to remember that it is the written word that knows when and how to reach wherever it must. And those words will. It is pointless dancing with ghosts.
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Arvind Passey
Written on 25 February 2025
