Literature exists at the same time in the modes of error and truth; it both betrays and obeys its own mode of being.
Paul De ManRead
The ambivalence of writing is such that it can be considered both an act and an interpretive process that follows after an act with which it cannot coincide. As such, it both affirms and denies its own nature.
Interpretation
Writing is a complex process that can be seen both as a creative act and as a form of interpretation, which can often conflict.
In this quote, Paul De Man highlights the duality inherent in the act of writing. He suggests that writing is not merely a straightforward act of expression; it involves a subsequent interpretive process that reflects back on the initial act. This intrinsic ambivalence leads writing to both reinforce and contradict its own essence, ultimately revealing the complexities and tensions within artistic creation.
In practice
In a seminar on literary theory, discussing the dual nature of writing.
[The artist] is like a pump; he has inside him a great pipe that reaches down into the entrails of things, the deepest layers. He sucks up what was lying there below, dim and unnoticed, and brings it in great jets to the sunlight.
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
What is real for me are the illusions I create with my paintings. Everything else is quicksand.
And, I mean, I think poetry does need to be met to some extent, especially, I guess, 19th century poetry, and for me, it's just been so worth the effort. It's like I'm planting a garden in my head.
As a songwriter, if you can touch people and make them feel a little less alone in the world, then you've done your job.
Because you have things like 'American Idol' and you've got radio stations that play music made entirely by computers, it's easy to forget there are bands with actual people playing actual instruments that rock.
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