some mornings... I sit at the kitchen table shaking salt into the hairs on my arm, and a feeling shoves up in me: it's finished. Everything went past without me.
Jennifer EganRead
What lists and awards don't measure - and I feel this strongly - is the lasting value of any work of art. They're a snapshot of a moment, and one should always consider their judgments in that context.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Awards and lists represent fleeting achievements, while true artistic value endures beyond recognition.
In this quote, Jennifer Egan emphasizes that lists and awards are merely temporary reflections of a moment in time, often failing to capture the deeper, lasting value of art. She urges us to recognize that the true worth of creative work lies beyond accolades, suggesting that context and enduring impact should be the primary measures of artistic success.
Themes
ArtValueAwardsJudgmentLasting
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of creativity, one might refer to this quote to highlight that artistic contribution transcends accolades.
More from Jennifer Egan
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We live in a moment and a culture when reading is really endangered. There's simply no way to write well, though, if you're not reading well.
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