April’s Man of the Month is:
Brad Foster
Here’s a little bit about him:
My name is Brad. How do you do?
I was going to start my bio with a filthy lie, mostly because purposefully deceiving people is a hell of a lot of fun. Sure there are downsides, like when the person I’ve lied to discovers they’ve been lied to. Usually some sort of hissy fit ensues, “You lied to me! How could you! Blah, blah, blah.” But those first moments of deception are very compelling, seductive in fact. With perfect strangers it is perfectly easy to lie. For example, if I told you that I was born into a family of sheep herders on the steppes of Inner Mongolia would you perceive this as a lie? Probably. Afterall, what are the chances that a tall, muscular, extraordinarily handsome white man with piercing blue eyes could be Mongolian? It seems like a lie. But is it? If, with that initial statement, I was wearing a sheep skin tunic, pointy shoes, a colourful scarf around wrapped around my head and carrying a knarled herder’s staff, you might actually think, “Wow. This guy is Mongolian.”
If I were to back up my costume with stories of how my Mother used to drain blood from a live goat’s neck while singing a traditional Mongolian long song, you might be further convinced of my genealogy. And if I were to show you a picture of my Father in a local Nadaam (a Mongolian horse derby) it might just be enough evidence to push you away from the edge of doubt.
Man in centre with brown jacket and white hat is Brad's father.
Whether you are convinced of my Mongolian heritage is irrelevant to our introduction. What is relevant is that you are likely impelled to look for further evidence of my claim and to read on. This is the power of creativity: to impel even the most skeptical to look for meaning and truth.
Post Script: Besides inventing fabulous lies, Brad also helps to build hospitals, raises children, rides his bike a long way, and has done a whole bunch of other soulless work to earn a living.
And here’s how he answered my 6 questions about creativity:
What does it mean to you to be creative?
Being creative is complicated. Personally creativity feels more like an affliction than a blessing. It’s like a knot in the centre of my gut that refuses to be untied. I can never satiate the beast and it is a bloody hungry monster. I always tell myself that if I could just find the time to write this book, or produce that show, or collaborate on this project I’ll be fine. But then I do and the beast still moans for more like an undersexed teenager. Frankly, I get sick of the impulse. It seems limitless and in a society that values endings I find it difficult to reconcile the pressure to produce and earn with my creative longings.
On a more positive note, I know my creativity has driven me to search for a broad perspective on life. This has brought me a lot of weird and whacky friends, adventure and pleasure. It has also allowed me to have a career as a generally accepted muckraker which has been fun, and I’m told has occasionally brought positive change and happiness to those around me. For this I’m thankful.
There‘s also the parties. Creative people have great parties and that is important.
What triggers your creativity?
Other people are my most powerful muse. I love sitting with friends or colleagues over a few drinks and brainstorming any subject. Human energy is a powerful inspiration.
Other creative work also triggers new ideas. Emulating those who have come before me is a great source of inspiration. I’ve also found location and unfettered time to be very important. Certain cities, like Paris (which I admit as a writer is cliché), seem to flip a switch in my brain causing me to download pages and pages of material that I otherwise cannot seem to produce. I guess it comes down to feeling free of the restrictions of everyday life, which can be onerous.
Inspiration is weird and unpredictable.
What hinders your creativity?
A busy work schedule or anyone with a small, ugly little closed mind. I also dislike working with creative people who wander around acting creative. They seem disingenuous somehow.
What’s the wildest journey your venturesome spirit has taken you on?
Her name was Brenda; she was not Mongolian; and she carried a pipe.
What does being bold and provocative mean to you?
Get out there and do or say something. I believe strongly that we have one life to live and to waste a creative impulse because it might make someone else feel uncomfortable is very wrong. Being bold does not mean one should wear a pink shirt with dingo balls to a funeral. That is just stupid. To me it means getting in and fighting for your ideas, and fuck the rest.
What’s next for you?
My family’s goal over the next year or so is to pack up and head to France to live for a year. My intent is to escape my work-a-day life and plant myself firmly in the writer’s seat. I don’t know what it will produce but I’m going to try. Why France? Why not?
And here’s a quote that inspires Brad:
It is now the fall of my second year in Paris. I was sent here for a reason I have not yet been able to fathom.
I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. A year ago, six months ago, I thought that I was an artist. I no longer think about it, I am. Everything that was literature has fallen from me. There are no more books to be written, thank God.
This then? This is not a book. This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty…what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing. I will sing while you croak, I will dance over your dirty corpse…
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
– Henry Miller, excerpt from Tropic of Cancer
Thank you for sharing Brad, adore your words …and that ain’t no lie!
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