Survival

I've always been interested in long careers in both the arts and show business. Many of the science fiction writers I grew up reading had careers that spanned many decades. Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett and of course Ray Bradbury. In mystery there was Hugh Pentecost, Richard Lockridge, Mignon Eberhardt and many others. The greatest kick is seeing character actors who worked in the early 1930s still working in the 1970s and 1980s. A few you see even in the 1990s.


What prompted this entry was reading Brian Garfield's long and fine interview over on Saddlebums (an excellent new site)
http://www.saddlebums.blogspot.com/ Here's the final question and Brian's answer. I think he speaks for a lot of writers, actors, directors.

Q. What is the greatest satisfaction of your writing career? Is there anything else you still feel you need to accomplish?

A. Survival is the greatest satisfaction, especially when you find you still have a market after nearly 50 years in the business. I’ve changed a lot; so have the publishing business and the movie business; and we haven’t changed in the same ways, necessarily. So I’m very fortunate to be here, still kicking. The thing I feel I still would like to accomplish is to write a book that’s better than any of its sixty-odd predecessors. That may not be in the cards, but I’ll keep dealing anyway. Thanks for asking.