Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
I believe that culture begins in the cradle . . .To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity's past, is to have no star map for our future.
Interpretation
Culture and literature are essential for understanding humanity and guiding future generations.
Jane Yolen emphasizes the vital role that stories, tales, and books play in shaping culture and preserving humanity's history. She argues that without these narratives, individuals lose their connection to the past and lack guidance for the future, much like navigating without a star map.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy in schools.
Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
What makes a good book? Scholars and critics have been debating that question for decades. I like books that touch my head and my heart at the same time.
Just write. If you have to make a choice, if you say, 'Oh well, I'm going to put the writing away until my children are grown,' then you don't really want to be a writer. If you want to be a writer, you do your writing... If you don't do it, you probably don't want to be a writer, you just want to have written and be famous—which is very different.
Childrens books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.
Folklore is the perfect second skin. From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world.
The child builds his inmost self out of the deeply held impressions he receives.
The results showed that Joe Mokoena and I had made history. For the first time in the history of education in South Africa, two African students had passed the JC with a First Class degree, regarded as a rare achievement for any student.
I never teach the same course twice.
I think you can be taught to write. You can't be taught to be a good writer. For that, you have to bring something to it, yourself, something that can't be given to you.
The most profound lessons about journalism I've learned have been taught to me by the people I've covered.
In Holy Cross, I came to like school, to like studying in a way I had never done before.
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