A Writer's Moment: 'Be brave enough to speak the truth'

A Writer's Moment: 'Be brave enough to speak the truth':   “ Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.  You must then live it to its fullest.”  – Muriel Sp...

'Be brave enough to speak the truth'

 

“Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.  You must then live it to its fullest.” – Muriel Spark

 

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland on Feb. 1, 1918, Spark applied that philosophy to an award-winning career as a novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.  Her writing (and editing) career grew out of her work as a British Intelligence Officer during World War II when she realized she had a knack for the clever use of words.   

 

Starting as an editor of Poetry Review magazine, she soon was writing poems of her own, authoring several critically acclaimed poetry collections and books of criticism before turning to short stories and then novels in the late 1950s.  Her first effort, The Comforters, – built around the clever plot of a young woman who becomes aware that she is a character in a novel – firmly established her credentials as a major writer.

 

Perhaps best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – also adapted into both a play and a movie – she went on to write 22 novels and 21 books of poetry and nonfiction.  Her thriller The Mandelbaum Gate also was a multiple award winner.  Shortly before her death in 2006, she was named for the Golden PEN Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature and ranked 8^th by The London Times among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.”   

“To be a successful writer,” Spark said, “one must be brave enough to speak the truth, even when it is uncomfortable or unpopular.”