I think art is a healing force, and if we give in to the joy that can be found in art, then we are able to sustain ourselves in spite of ourselves.
Interpretation
Art serves as a source of healing and joy, helping us to endure challenges in life.
In this quote, Ntozake Shange expresses the idea that art has the power to heal and uplift individuals, allowing them to find joy even amidst difficulties. By embracing the joy that art can provide, we can better navigate the struggles we face and maintain our well-being despite personal challenges.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of art therapy, one might use this quote to emphasize how art can provide healing.
Where there is a woman there is magic. If there is a moon falling from her mouth, she is a woman who knows her magic, who can share or not share her powers. A woman with a moon falling from her mouth, roses between her legs and tiaras of Spanish moss, this woman is a consort of the spirits.
I write for young girls of color, for girls who don’t even exist yet, so that there is something there for them when they arrive. I can only change how they live, not how they think.
i usedta live in the world really be in the world free & sweet talkin good mornin & thank-you & nice day uh huh i cant now i cant be nice to nobody nice is such a rip-off regular beauty & a smile in the street is just a set-up
one thing I don’t need is any more apologies i got sorry greetin me at my front door you can keep yrs i don’t know what to do wit em they don’t open doors or bring the sun back they don’t make me happy or get a mornin paper didn’t nobody stop usin my tears to wash cars cuz a sorry.
The slaves who were ourselves had known terror intimately, confused sunrise with pain, & accepted indifference as kindness.
It still amazes and fascinates me that women of color have kept my work alive for these many generations.
Purer colors... have in themselves, independently of the objects they serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them.
What I want to give in the theatre is beauty, that's what I want to give.
I make it clear why I write as I do and why other poets write as they do. After hundreds of experiments I decided to go my own way in style and see what would happen.
I do feel that I have to use my voice for those that don't have one. I have to do the best I can in my own work to represent my culture, represent the women of my country, of Latin America. What we stand for. What we're made of.
It's populated by people who, by and large, have terrific communication skills. Every day is an extraordinary day. For me, it was just a great area for storytelling.
I think what a lot of action movies lose these days, especially the ones that deal with fantasy, is you stop caring at some point because you've lost human scale.
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