"The Creative Process of Writing is a Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"
www.virtualwritingcoach.com
April, 2007
In This Issue:
1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. Sidney Poitier
4. Helpful Hints
1. Preview
The Writer's Connection explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in
writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.
Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript,
and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be
printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.
2. Publisher's Note
April, 2007
Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,
This month's newsletter features some important information on the spiritual autobiography of Sidney Poitier.
3. Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier, the internationally-acclaimed actor wrote his spiritual autobiography,
The Measure of a Man, in 2000, and
has been reprinted by Harper Collins. I was drawn to this book, not because of the man, but for what he had to say about himself,
life, and character. I had always known Mr. Poitier to be a fine actor, the first Black actor for having won the Academy Award for
best actor for his first starring role,
Lillies of the Field.
He went on to play in equally entertaining and provocative movies:
To Sir With Love,
In the Heat of the Night, Guess
Who's Coming to Dinner, Blackboard Jungle, A Patch of Blue,
The Defiant Ones, among others too numerous to
mention. He was awarded the Screen Actor Guild's highest honor, the Life Achievement Award for an outstanding career and humanitarian
accomplishment. You may also have seen his most recent TV interview with Jamie Foxx on a Barbara Walters special earlier this year.
From his humble beginnings as a child on Cat Island, forty-six miles long and three miles wide with no asphalt roads and tomato farming
to support his family, he never forgot his French and Black heritage and roots, his ancestors having most likely originated from Haiti.
A long list of compelling family members including Aunt Ya-Ya, Aunt Augusta, grandfather Pa Tim and grandmother Mama Gina who smoked a
pipe and cooked in a thatch hut. On cool nights he and his older sister Teddy would fan each other with palm leaves to keep away the
mosquitoes and sand flies.
To say that Mr. Poitier and his family were poor financially is an understatement. But they were rich beyond measure with respect to
family and spiritual awareness. Sidney Poitier, in spite of his success, never forgot his roots
--the fact that he was a Black man,
despite the memorable line in
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in which he tells his father that while his father thinks of himself as
a Black man, Sidney thought of himself as a Man.
His movie roles allowed him to rub elbows with the Hollywood "A List" of his time: Tony Curtis, Rod Steiger, Kathryn Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy.
All Black actors today owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Poitier for his insistence that he was an Actor first before being a person of color.
Despite his innumerable achievements, none is greater than his five daughters and his second marriage to Joanna Shimkus.
At 79, this great actor attends fundraisers supporting cultural, political, and social causes to which he is passionately committed. Although
some may disagree with his political leanings to the left, he is balanced and fair with people. He was and is a work in process who credits his
fellow actors (Steiger, Brando, Ruby Dee, Grant, Alice Childress, Frank Silvera, Canada Lee) for his exponential learning curve. His spiritual
awakening is akin to a Gaia adage of two forces competing against each other: one good and the other evil.
Poitier unabashedly admits to his shortcomings and his imperfections as a youth from his earlier days in Florida and the New York theatre to
Hollywood. Perhaps most interesting is his intersection of spirituality and the universe (aka Carl Sagan) in which he describes "human life as a
highly imperfect system, filled with subordinate imperfections all the way down." He goes on to say that what we do in this life is to "stay
within the context of what's practical, what's real, what dreams can be fashioned into reality, what values can send us to bed comfortably and
make us courageous enough to face our end with character." After all, isn't this the true measure of humankind?
4. Helpful Hints
- Read Poitier's book for insight into this amazing human being. What other people in your life would meet Poitier's test of character?
- A spiritual autobiography is different from an autobiography, infusing core values, beliefs, and a philosophy of life and human interaction.
What other autobiographical books have you read that fit this category?
- Can you think of other famous people who came from humble beginnings and never forgot this fact, despite their success?
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About Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist
for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach and is accepting new clients.
He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive
development, founded and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home services to
persons with mental retardation, and has been running a clinical practice in Northwest Houston since 1990.
He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate
interest in helping others become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.
Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made
presentations and conducted workshops about:
Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality
