The job of the writer is to take a close and uncomfortable look at the world they inhabit, the world we all inhabit, and the job of the novel is to make the corpse stink.
Walter MosleyRead
We live in capitalism, and capitalism is defined by the production line, and the production line is defined by specificity. If you see yourself as an artist, which I do, then you can't be limited by that. You can't let somebody tell you, 'Well, you can only draw this kind of picture or write that kind of book.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that as an artist, one should not be confined by the limitations of capitalism and its specific demands.
Walter Mosley highlights the tension between artistic freedom and the constraints imposed by capitalism. He argues that true artistry transcends the rigid definitions of productivity and specific output that capitalism dictates, encouraging artists to explore and create beyond the boundaries set by others.
Themes
ArtCapitalismCreativityFreedomSpecificity
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class discussing the impact of commercialism on creativity.
More from Walter Mosley
All quotes →At one time if you were a black writer you had to be one of the best writers in the world to be published. You had to be great. Now you can be good. Mediocre. And that's good.
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My father cared about the world he lived in, and so he admitted his confusion about his place in America because he didn't want me to make the same mistake in my life.
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Many & most moments go by with us hardly aware of their passage. But love & hate & fear cause time to snag you, to drag you down like a spider's web holding fast to a doomed fly's wings. And when you're caught like that you're aware of every moment & movement & nuance.
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We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.
Walter MosleyRead
All writing is that structure of revelation. There's something you want to find out. If you know everything up front in the beginning, you really don't need to read further if there's nothing else to find out.
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You're only reduced to a cliche if you don't humanize a character.
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Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.
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When you write for a living and you can't do anything else, you know that sooner or later that the deadline is going to come screaming down on you like a goddamn banshee. There's no avoiding it...So one day you just don't appear at the El Adobe bar anymore; you shut the door, paint the windows black, rent an electric typewriter and become the monster you always were - the writer.
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