“Random Thoughts of a Creative Mind” (Outskirts Press, 2019) by Susan Hassel will be featured at the LA Times Festival of Books in Spring 2022. This is a book of poetry and essays that she began writing in grade school on through high school to cope with the bullying of her classmates. She regrouped as a young adult after positive comments about her writing at the New School in NYC after presenting her first short story there. And her writing continued steadily on through the present day. She won a modest award and the NYT featured a small prose selection about her cat in the center home section which showed first on the front page of that section. Sue Hassel is known by New Yorkers as “The Soprano on the Bridge” and both the New York Times and Wall Street Journals have featured her in the weekend editions of the home section of each paper (the WSJ came first and four years later the NYT).
Sue Hassel grew up on a small farm in Wisconsin and helped her father with the outside chores and all the animals, the fall harvest and the winter blizzards. It is typical for farm kids to grow up that way. Her sister and both parents are dead.
The book is about the reality of becoming a complete artist, whether it is as a singer, pianist or painter. And her her paintings have shown in several juried shows. You can check out her website for samples (www.suehassel.com). An artist's life is about becoming and evolving and much of any success is based on sheer hard work, many setbacks and hard-won triumphs. And Hassel is acquainted with every permutation.
“Random Thoughts” is a book about persisting and becoming even if the odds are not in your favor. Many really fine artists struggle an entire lifetime. Some are just plain lucky and are healthy enough to persist even when the load is heavy. Hassel has had three cardiac arrests and a stroke so far and she has a really good doctor. The sum total of this author's life will not be how famous she becomes (that's in the lap of the gods), but the valor, commitment and persistence of her struggle. “Random Thoughts” is a reality check of the creative life and the joy and broad impact on the person living that live. It's a life chosen by people who dare and risk. And yes sometimes fail. But there is valor in the struggle, and the struggle makes one realize that they are part of the human race, and that is both humbling and inspiring. It is the bravery and persistence to struggle and grow, and this author will never stop. And she encourages you to never stop.
The poetry can be as innocent as a reaction to a music box showing a small dancer turning on a mirror. Or it can be as powerful as taking on well known politicians who are corrupt and live that way. The essays can be as moving as coming home to a grieving family whose father has died, and coping with the forlorn dog relegated to the barn because the survivors forgot about it. It's about the human condition and how people survive it and find their own way back. Hassel is a survivor. And this book is about survival.
According to Llamedos, an Amazon reviewer, “It is a lovely book. The author writes her view on ordinary general things and events in a way that makes you reflect on life. I love the poems Automaton and Beauty and her writing on Human Nature in the Corporate Structure – all quite thought-provoking…”
Interested? Learn more about “Random Thoughts of a Creative Mind” by Susan Hassel available on Amazon, and come visit the upcoming LA Times Festival of Books in Spring 2022!
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