An Author Who Exemplifies Artistry and Craftsmanship

Last time we said we'd see another instance of how craft plays an important role in art, this time from an author's perspective. Our author will be Taylor Caldwell. If you're not familiar with her vast body of work, she was quite popular in her day. Her own choice for favorite book was Dear and Glorious Physician. Based on historical fact, it's her vision of the life of St. Luke the Evangelist.

Right off the bat, we find a marriage of an artist's imagination with the world of hard facts. She took over 40 years to write this book - a real work of love. During those long years, she researched the time and places when St. Luke walked the earth. The story is based upon a broad understanding of St. Luke as an historical figure, one we are all familiar with. He was a physician, and he wrote a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Well, most of us Catholics have an idea of him as a real person (or should) based on this alone. 

But she filled in the gaps between broad understanding and her plot with detailed depictions of the time St. Luke lived and where he lived in the Roman Empire. The depictions of the Empire emerge from her research. As an added bonus, she states at the beginning of the book that we can draw comparisons between Rome and our own country (the U.S.) as it turned away from being a Republic towards expanding its powerful reach as an Empire. It's not the main point of the story, but does provide food for thought.

The book is an engrossing read and you will come away from it with perhaps the same degree of respect, admiration, and, yes, love, for the man we know as St. Luke. 

What applies to us as workers who may not be artists or craftsman: research/historical perspective; thorough attention to detail; tender loving care.

Research/Historical Perspective: 

This could seem unrelated to your particular line of work. But here's a personal example that taught me the value of this one.

A new job with a big bank. Turned out there was serious history behind the institution. The introduction to all the marketing books we client-facing folks used all referred to that history. Shockingly, most of the individuals with whom I worked had no idea what was behind the words used in their presentations, although they frequently would parrot the words. Having some knowledge of history, and thinking it was foolish to parrot, rather than speak with some base of understanding, I made it my business to research and get up to speed re the historical points made. After all, they promoted the idea (whether legitimate or not) that that history somehow made our products and services more appealing and reliable.

If you work for a company with any kind of history, it's worth learning about it. It could provide a level of confidence in your company (or the opposite!) and perhaps a little edge in presenting products and services to customers, if that's your role. In any case, it wouldn't hurt, and likely will provide a benefit.

Thorough Attention To Detail:

We have addressed this in the past. It's of course not unique to Taylor Caldwell, or authors in general. So there should be no news here to any of us workers. But the exquisite attention to detail our author exemplifies might serve as both a reminder or, perhaps a revelation. It's possible to attend to detail and stopping at a certain point in the interest of time, or having discovered enough detail to suit the objectives we're tying to accomplish. However, it can be the case that we stop short of unveiling the full extent of facts or history, or whatever, that we need to provide the highest degree of excellence in the task or project we're addressing.

Hmmm...looks like our post is approaching its accustomed limit. Se we'll reserve "tender loving care" for our next entry.

Happy Easter!