The Persistent Or Penniless Poet Or Artist As Hero/Heroine

But I also admire those who were devoted to their art of craft despite making little or no money, or dying in poverty. For example, English artist Lowry lived with a settee whose springs protruded. Musician Mozart died in poverty.
   Have you ever tried ice skating, singing two octaves, playing the piano, writing a speech, sewing on a button, cooking a lunch for six, or performing stand-up comedy? Have you crossed the city and waited hours for an audition and been turned down? Sat for hours waiting to be a non-speaking part in a crowd scene as an extra on a film in the hope of becoming a film star? Checked out the cost of a course on songwriting, piano playing, or the cost of ice scates and skis and a grand piano or clarinet? The composers, comedians, opera and pop singers, all devoted many hours a week, sometimes several hours a day for years, and had to miss seeing family and friends, outings, or simply lazing around doing nothing. If Westminster Abbey considers writers worthy of a mentions, so do I.
   I am compiling a list of the world's heroes and heroines who I think you will find inspirational. I am selecting a succinct quotation and an interesting story which encapsulates their lives, a new person to learn about and talk about for each day of the year.