Career Highs and Lows
Post by Yussef A
When it comes to Alison's low point(s) in her career, I wouldn't say it was too bad but I do believe it's nice to know about and it was an important part of her life as they were stepping stones to reaching the high points in her career.
After graduating from Oberlin College in 1981, Alison moved to Manhattan in hopes of getting accepted into an art college. Unfortunately, though, she got rejected by all of them and ended up getting office jobs like secretarial work in the publishing industry for about 2 years. She also had a job as a warehouse worker for a food bank for a few years. So, I would consider that a low point in her career since that must have been tough for a person so talented and artistic like Alison to not be doing what she was passionate about.
Figure 1. (2013). Alison Bechdel wearing Oberlin College t-shirt
High points in her career would definitely be when she was able to quit her job as a production manager at Equal Time because of the success her comic strips Dykes to Watch out For would bring her. Another important high point in her career was when she released Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic in 2006 which received a lot of good reviews and praise from critics, while also being recommended by Booklist, People, and Time magazine, which also put Fun Home in the list of top 10 books of 2006 (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2007, para. 9).
Figure 2. Alison Bechdel gives a speech at the 2019 Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Cleveland on April 13, by L. DeWitt.
Alison has won many awards in her career and I'm sure she sees them all as high points in her career, including the praise she received from Comic Alliance who listed her among 1 of 12 women cartoonists deserving of lifelong recognition for her work and achievements (Comics Alliance, 2016).
Lastly, here's a link to an article that talks about how Alison felt regarding the making of the famous Fun Home musical based on her memoir. This definitely has to be a high point in her career as well since one of her best pieces of work was transformed into a musical that can be portrayed and viewed differently.
Lastly, here's a link to an article that talks about how Alison felt regarding the making of the famous Fun Home musical based on her memoir. This definitely has to be a high point in her career as well since one of her best pieces of work was transformed into a musical that can be portrayed and viewed differently.
Post created by Yussef
References
Bechdel, A. (2013). Alison Bechdel wearing Oberlin College t-shirt [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/no-i-am-not-turning-into-j-d-salinger
Cooke, R. (2017, November 5). Fun Home creator Alison Bechdel on turning a tragic childhood into a hit musical. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/05/alison-bechdel-interview-cartoonist-fun-home
Cooke, R. (2017, November 5). Fun Home creator Alison Bechdel on turning a tragic childhood into a hit musical. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/05/alison-bechdel-interview-cartoonist-fun-home
DeWitt, L. (2019). Alison Bechdel gives a speech at the 2019 Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Cleveland on April 13 [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/acrl2019-alison-bechdel-life-in-books/
Encyclopedia of World Biography. (2007). Alison Bechdel Biography. Retrieved from
Lawson, E. (2016, September 9). Ones To Watch Out For: Celebrating The Genius Of Alison Bechdel. Comics Alliance. Retrieved from https://comicsalliance.com/tribute-alison-bechdel/
Webbiography. (n.d). Alison Bechdel: Biography. Retrieved from http://www.webbiography.com/biographies/alison-bechdel
Webbiography. (n.d). Alison Bechdel: Biography. Retrieved from http://www.webbiography.com/biographies/alison-bechdel
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, November 3). Alison Bechdel. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:01, November 21, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alison_Bechdel&oldid=924320669
Hey Yussef,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight! I had no idea Al didn’t get accepted into any of the arts colleges she applied to. I bet those colleges are kicking themselves at this point, but things obviously worked out for Alison the way they were meant to. I agree with this type of rejection being hard. It’s especially hard on artists because we’re normally quite sensitive to begin with and we’re constantly bearing our soul every time we release our work. As a music theatre performer myself, there are hundreds of jobs you’ll apply for and not even get an audition time. Don’t get me started on the jobs you audition for and don’t book. I think in these low points, it’s just important to stay focused on why you love what you do and just keep trying. It’s also good to be realistic and set goals for yourself as a way to check in with progress, but something’s just take a little more time and a little more heart.
In some of my research I found a quote showing that if Fun Home hadn’t been as successful as it was, Bechdel says she “would have had to stop [drawing] and do something else” (Cooke, 2017 November). The entire interview was so full of informative inspiration, feel free to view it here : https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/05/alison-bechdel-interview-cartoonist-fun-home
Post by Jaymee
References
Bechdel, A. Fun Home. (2006). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cooke, R. (2017, November 5). Fun Home creator Alison Bechdel on turning a tragic childhood into a hit musical. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/05/alison-bechdel-interview-cartoonist-fun-home