Fitzgerald on Talent (It’s Meaningless)
You have talent—which is the equivalent of a soldier having the right physical qualifications for entering West Point.
—From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s letter to a young author who sent him a story to read over. I just love how stinging this is. It stings me! Sting! Sting! So great.
---
Previously on The Billfold
---
---
---
Is it just me, or does he look exactly like Ashley from Gone with the Wind?
Talent doesn’t seem to be meaningless here. If the ability to tear one’s love story out of his or her heart is the price of admission, talent can be likened to a simple act of will of going to the ticket booth.
I want to say thank you Logan for using a picture of Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Thank you for linking to this letter. Amazing! Also, agree with armagnacforbreakfast (and really, who doesn’t), that F. Scott is not saying that talent is meaningless. He’s saying that it’s meaningless if you aren’t willing to put it all out there, to lay everything on the line, to go all in, to go all the way, and other weirdly vague turns of speech indicating total commitment. So take heart!