The subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
In apartments and cottages, on the street and in the train... I listen... More and more, I turn into one large ear, always turning to another person.
Interpretation
The quote expresses the idea of deep listening and connection with others in everyday life.
Svetlana Alexievich reflects on the transformative power of listening, suggesting that as one engages with the world and the people in it, they become more attuned to the experiences and stories of others. This act of deep listening not only enhances personal understanding but also fosters a sense of community and shared humanity.
In practice
Using the quote in a discussion about the importance of listening in relationships.
The subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.
'Women's' war has its own colors, its own smells, its own lighting, and its own range of feelings. There are no heroes and incredible feats; there are simply people who are busy doing inhumanly human things.
There is no need to give in to the compromise that totalitarian regimes always count on.
I've been searching for a genre that would be most adequate to my vision of the world to convey how my ear hears and my eyes see life. I tried this and that, and finally, I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves. But I don't just record a dry history of events and facts; I'm writing a history of human feelings.
From the point of view of art, the butcher and the victim are equal as people. You need to see the people.
Nothing, not even human life, is more precious to us than our myths about ourselves.
Our problem is within ourselves. We have found the means to blow the world physically apart. Spiritually, we have yet to find the means to put together the world's broken pieces.
O Solitude! If I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap of murky buildings
While the Nation has forbidden monopoly by one set of laws it has been creating them by another. Patent laws, valuable as they may be in some respects, often father monopoly.
The body can't distinguish between cleansing and punishing for the body is ignorant, and mute besides.
Who tells a finer tale than any of us. Silence does.
Once the principle is admitted that it is the duty of the government to protect the individual against his own foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against further encroachments.
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