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Meg Waite Clayton

New York Times Bestselling Author

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January 23, 2010 By Meg Waite Clayton

Unrecognized Talent (or the Lessons of Rodin)

I was drawn to a documentary about the sculptor, Auguste Rodin, this afternoon because one of my favorite places to write when the weather is good is on a bench by the Rodin sculpture garden at the Cantor Arts Center. I had no idea that Rodin’s story is such a lesson in both the need to believe in oneself and the importance of having supportive friends.
The short version: His first sculptures were dismissed as “too realistic.” His application to the École des Beaux-Arts was turned down not once, but three time — at a time when it wasn’t that hard to get accepted. He spent the better part of two decades working as a craftsman, “designing roof decorations and staircase and doorway embellishments” (or so wikipedia tells me), all the while working on his art but unable to afford to cast it. He submitted to competitions, to no avail. It was through his friends and fellow artists and their salons that his work began to gain recognition – twenty-some years after he first started studying art.
Next up this afternoon for me: emailing or calling a few friends to tell them how wonderful I think their writing is. – Meg

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Filed Under: Meg's Posts Tagged With: rejection, rodin

Meg Waite Clayton

Meg Waite Clayton is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, a Jewish Book Award finalist based on the true story of the Kindertransport rescue of ten thousand children from Nazi-occupied Europe—and one brave woman who helped them escape. Her six prior novels include the Langum-Prize honored The Race for Paris and The Wednesday Sisters, one of Entertainment Weekly's 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. A graduate of the University of Michigan and its law school, she has also written for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes, Runners World, and public radio, often on the subject of the particular challenges women face. megwaiteclayton.com

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