The Creative Conversations with Patrice Francis Part Three

The Creativity Conversations Part Three, the final part of the interview with Patrice Francis.

Is there a creative work of another person that you admire?

The playwright, Horton Foote, comes to mind. He wrote The Trip to Bountiful.

It’s the story of an aged lady who misses her home. She lives with her son and daughter-in-law. She sets out to go back to this place, and when she arrives, it’s not even a town anymore. The place is abandoned, ironically called ‘Bountiful.’

It’s a classic, feel-good Southern film. I loved the TV version played by Cicely Tyson.

For classical music, I love Chopin.

I love Bahamian rake n’ scrape music. I admire songs written by B.J. Smith, including “Rolly Gray,” and “Exuma Sweet.”

I find the Bible incredibly creative.

Lately I have been reading short stories by Anton Chekhov.

As a child, I received my favorite gift of all time. It was given by someone very dear to me, Lillian Newbold. I read Aesop's Fables until the cover came off.

I could never forget the story of a boy who kept giving false alarms. People eventually stopped taking him seriously, and when he had a legitimate need, nobody came to help.

Fables may be my favorite genre. Books like Who Moved my Cheese? by Spencer Johnson have meanings that either a child or an adult can read and enjoy.

I love art and am in awe of the small things that make us smile.

Recently I had an opportunity to see some plays by Valicia Rolle, a young lady with whom I've worked at The Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts. I like her writing.

I'm also increasingly inspired by the poetry of J. Ben- Hepburn.

If you could change one aspect of our society through your work, what would it be?

In The Bahamas, we have a term called “Black Crab Syndrome.” It describes a mindset of people who fear the traction and success of their fellow man. It’s a poverty mindset that doesn’t accept that there is more than enough for all of us. We can do so much better together than we can do alone.

I really detest the mindset of pulling down someone who is climbing. By nature, I am all about unity. I am fascinated by teamwork. I am committed to finishing my relay team story because I’m fascinated by its potential to inspire synchronization.

I wrote a corporate play for the Department of Public Service about killing the Black Crab Syndrome. In the play the Black Crab died. It was symbolic.

There is a severe lack of intentionality in our country.

I want us to become an intentional Commonwealth, to help children and adults to see their worth, to discover, develop and apply their gifts.

When I look at a child’s report card, I am more interested in the A’s and B’s than the D’s and F’s. I understand a parent’s concern to remediate and develop tenacity. My approach is to see a B grade become an A, and take an A to A+. We need to work from our strengths.

There was a young man begging on the streets for years. I heard people saying that even when he was in school, he never did anything well. As a teacher, I asked a guidance counselor to check his report cards. She discovered that he always got A’s in Music. He failed everything else but aced Music. That is a story.

Report cards tell stories, I am interested in the tales of the A’s and the B’s. I’m not interested in what a person is not, unless s/he is deliberately trying to fail.

I would like my work to help people honor the excellence of others, to encourage each one to unlock their personal greatness. I want my work to ask questions that create delight and honor curiosity.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

It’s advice given by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4, where he writes to a community that has been kind to him. He says, “I am happy that your care for me has flourished yet again. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in all circumstances therewith to be content.”

I read that when I was 16 and decided to make contentment a commitment.

Contentment is a type of competence. You have to learn it. Paul explained what he had learned: “I know how to be abased, and I know to abound.”

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about this equanimity:

“If you can dream, and not make dreams your master,

If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same…”

His poem links maturity with Paul’s take on contentment.

Over the years, I have tried to develop confidence in the goodness of God, so that I can be content, despite my circumstances. It isn’t easy.

The best practical advice came from my Mother when I was 11 years old. She said, “Never try to be anything but yourself.” That was profound. It nurtured a lifelong interest in authenticity. Imitation is an easier process than originality. But becoming our true selves is what the world needs.

Ola Storr and Patrice Francis mother circa 1953

What person living or dead would you like to spend the day with and why?

Let me tell you about my cousin, Ola. She was over fifty years older than me.

She was my playmate when I was a little girl. She entertained me and listened to my stories. She never laughed at my whimsical self, and there was a lot of whimsy!!

Ola took me on walks around the corner to visit our family. Back then, it was common for Bahamian families to live next door to one another.

She was less austere than most of the adults around me. My great grandmother would ask me, “What does Ola’s house have that mine doesn’t?”

I simply responded, “Ola.”

I would love to spend a day with her again. She died when I was 20 and off at university.

She was sick, and I couldn’t even make her a cup of tea.

I didn’t have the presence of mind at that age to say, “thank you,” in the way that I wanted to.

She was a marvelous gift to me as a child. She gave me unconditional love.

I feel like I inherited her love, because she treated my mother the same way. She was in her thirties when my mom was born, and in her fifties when I arrived.

She loved me. She told me I was pretty and smart. She affirmed me, though we didn’t call it that back then.

I would like to spend the day with her--Ola Storr.

Tell me something more about Ola

She would have been 95 years old in 2021. By the time she was four, she was orphaned. She lost both parents, the third of four children. She was the only girl. She had a primary school education.

Ola loved life. She was a child in so many ways. She spoke my language. She expressed herself in pictures, whimsy and mystery. She got me.

It says a lot that I am singling her out, because I had the kind of mother who allowed me to be who I am. I grew up being nurtured by many maternal figures, like a Grand Aunt, Lowie, who recently turned 90. She provided such unconditional love.

Ola however appealed to my creative side. I associate certain aromas with her. She cooked on an oil stove. The scent of kerosene still reminds me of her.

What would you like most to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered for how special I made people feel. I want them to feel seen and valued whenever I have sat with them, or whenever they encountered me.

I would also like to be remembered for my intention to help children unlock and recognize their own intrinsic worth as early as possible.

More than creativity, I want to be remembered in the way I remember my cousin, Ola. She saw me.

Lowie sees me. Even today, when we encounter one another her face lights up. That is a true gift.

I absolutely loved interviewing my friend. Many thanks to Patrice Francis for allowing me to share her journey of creativity. Thanks to Joy Sweeting who helped with the editing of this interview. Stay tuned for more The Creative Conversations.