What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers are often shaped by their early experiences and knowledge gained during childhood.
This quote by Willa Cather emphasizes the idea that the fundamental ideas, themes, and influences that a writer draws upon are largely formed in their formative years, particularly before the age of fifteen. It suggests that early life experiences and exposure to various materials have a lasting impact on a person's creative output, influencing their writing style and choices throughout their career.
Themes
WriterEducationChildhoodInfluenceCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I shared Cather's quote to highlight the importance of childhood experiences in shaping a writer's voice.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes βThat is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
Willa CatherRead
Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
Willa CatherRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Willa CatherRead
The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
Willa CatherRead
This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
Willa CatherRead
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The best educated human being is the one who understands most about the life in which he is placed.
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All of these young people have some kind of potential in them. And if we don't invest in them as a nation, regardless of where they come from or what color they are, if we don't invest in them, we lose.
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