Also, I’m not necessarily thinking of sharing art depending on its “goodness” (hehe) or strength. For example: I love to sing. I have a decent voice, better than most—but I won’t sing in public. I want to but I won’t. I want to be in a band, musical theatre, go caroling at Christmas, etc. But I won’t. I might with a few drinks in me but (as you know) that almost never happens. It’s not the “goodness” (hehe) that holds me back—but I remember being mocked as a child by my mother and best friend’s mother for constantly singing and having a vibrato.

And because of the info. we do know about Darger, I start to wonder about how his childhood and religious beliefs played into his desire/inability/reticence to share his art with others. And even his desire to create at all.

A variation of this question came up last semester in the nonfiction workshop when Ray asked whether the students in the class would keep writing if they knew their work wouldn’t be published, and no one would ever read it. My answer is yes because I’ve always written and without thought to publication. I don’t feel terribly compelled to try to publish my poetry, primarily because I’m never certain it’s that good, but I enjoy working on it. In those instances I do feel satisfied finishing a poem, then putting it aside and starting another. On the other hand, I tend to have an eye toward publication when I’m working on my essays. And if those essays were never going to be read/published, I’d like to think I’d still craft them. The same goes with my visual art. I’m content to scribble and draw in my sketchbook and not show anyone what I’m doing, but I’m always interested in showing my photography. (So, I guess my response to your last question has to do with how I perceive the strength of my work…when I’m confident in its quality, I’m willing to share. When I’m not, I’m willing to work on it and keep it to myself.) (Which brings in the issue of ego, I suppose)

Besides, we don’t know that Darger didn’t have the desire to share his work, only that he didn’t. We can only speculate: he didn’t want to or he may have had the desire but didn’t for various reasons.

That is, I think, a more interesting question: what of art we wish to share but don’t? What are the reasons, real or imagined, that hold us back?