Current Read.

Currently I am reading "The Chief" by David Nasaw, about the life and times of William Randolph Hearst.  It's a fascinating biographic look at Hearst's rise.  A song on the upcoming Supercollider album is loosely inspired by Hearst and his San Simeon Castle.  The track "Mansion" asks the question: "Would you or I be happy here, so much space."  I based the song loosely on a Wislawa Szymborska idea from her poem "The Great Man's House," where she is taking a tour much the same way that Annie and I took a tour of Hearst Castle in late December.  We found it fascinating to explore the personal living quarters of Hearst, along with his office and personal library on the top floor.  We also toured his kitchen and guest quarters in the main house.  So what inspired me is the fact that here is this incredible mansion, on a stretch of land that goes as far as the eye can see, and would you or I find the success that he found living in this luxury?  Or would we, perhaps like Szymborska herself, be happy with 4 walls, a desk, and a dash of inspiration.  Does it matter what type of surroundings we are enclosed in to determine greatness?

What I found interesting was that Hearst was a spoiled Harvard drop-out, who found success in the newspaper industry, but not without pleading constantly for the purse strings his father owned to be opened often and freely for the success of his paper.  It falls into the category of needing money to make more money.  At this point in "The Chief," W. R. Hearst finds himself competing against the top papers in San Fransisco, and innovating the industry with the help of his father's fortune.  I look forward to reading what propels Hearst in the end to his own greatness and fame.  Because maybe he didn't find greatness in the great house.  Or maybe he did.