The Importance of Fiction [NFTW #59]

What’s good everyone? I hope we’re all doing well. First and foremost my apologies for not providing you with a newsletter last week—I got my logistics completely wrong as I thought I could get it done on the plane. Oh the audacity. The way I slept on that flight! It’s all good though, we’re still here.

I wrote quite a bit while I was in Singapore and left quite inspired—I’ll share thoughts on this next week. This week I wanted to share a few thoughts on the importance of fiction and why the next book you get through should be a piece of fiction.

Make Your Next Read Fiction

One of the conversations that has always arisen in the book readings I’ve facilitated via MBK Books has been assessing and understanding the motives, insights and behaviours of the characters we come across as we flick through the pages.

Back in 2015, President Barack Obama said that novels taught him “the most important” things he has learned about being a citizen. When asked about novels and the impact they have had on him, he said: “It has to do with empathy. It has to do with being comfortable with the notion that the world is complicated and full of greys, but there’s still truth to be found, and that you have to strive for that and work for that. And the notion that it’s possible to connect with someone else even though they’re very different from you.”

I think of the times when I find myself rereading a page to understand how I would feel in the situation being described on the page. Sometimes I’m close; I can resonate completely with the experience being described, other times my empathy takes me to a certain point but doesn’t allow me to complete the journey. I think that’s the point of writing—we’re all supposed to consume in our current context with our current understanding of ourselves and the world.

In a world that seems to be so outcome driven and increasingly concerned with direct benefit, profit or progress; I hear the normal rebuttals to reading fiction run along the lines of: “it’s not really my thing”, “what’s the point?” or “I don’t have the time. I live in the real world.” On first glance there can be said to be credibility to those statements but its actually quite intuitive to engage with fiction as life will always be and remain a series of different relationship dynamics—how better to build the muscle of engaging, relating and ultimately connecting with people by widening your lens to potential motives, intentions, behaviours and personalities.

So the next time you’re on Amazon, in a bookstore (remember those!) or just considering your next read—consider creating a new reality and picking up a piece of fiction. Your neural pathways will thank you.

“That’s what fiction is about, isn’t it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out the essence?”

Yann Martel, Author of Life of Pi

In the same year that Hip-Hop celebrated its Golden Year—the golden boy in the golden era, Nasir Jones, also celebrated his 50th birthday last week. In true service to the culture, he rounded off his inspiring and energetic run of music with Magic 3. Magic 3 completes the Magic trilogy. I got through some songs while in Singapore so happy to give it another spin later on this week. That makes 6 albums in 3 years. We also received the confirmation that the artistic relationship between Nas and Hit-Boy has come to an end. My personal take is that they will be back in the future. I think Nas will take some time to focus on his business endeavours. 30 years in the game and not missing a beat—inspiring stuff from the boy from Queensbridge.

Until next week. Peace.