But it isn't easy,' said Pooh. 'Because Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you.
Interpretation
Poetry and music are not just created; they often come to us unexpectedly and we must be open to their arrival.
In this quote, A. A. Milne expresses the idea that true artistic inspiration, represented by poetry and music (hums), does not come from a forced effort but rather finds us when we are receptive. It emphasizes the importance of being in a state that allows creativity and beauty to touch us, suggesting that we should seek environments where inspiration can be encountered.
In practice
In a poetry reading, one might quote this to highlight the nature of inspiration.
And how are you?" said Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore shook his head from side to side. "Not very how," he said. "I don't seem to have felt at all how for a long time." "Dear, dear," said Pooh, "I'm sorry about that. Let's have a look at you.
Piglet was so excited at the idea of being Useful that he forgot to be frightened any more, and when Rabbit went on to say that Kangas were only Fierce during the winter months, being at other times of an Affectionate Disposition, he could hardly sit still, he was so eager to begin being useful at once.
Time is swift, it races by; Opportunities are born and die... Still you wait and will not try - A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly.
Did I miss?" you asked. "You didn't exactly miss," said Pooh, "But you missed the balloon." "I'm so sorry," you said, and you fired again, and this time you hit the balloon and the air came slowly out, and Winnie-the-Pooh floated down to the ground.
Come, come, come. Without a monster or two it's not a quest, merely a gaggle of friends wandering about.
Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.
I've always tried to make movies that pull the audience out of their seats... I want audiences to be transported.
Style is not something applied. It is something that permeates. It is of the nature of that in which it is found, whether the poem, the manner of a god, the bearing of a man. It is not a dress.
One of the ways my first novel failed was that I was too in love with my characters.
Writing poetry is a state of free float.
Music is my way out. I keep things locked up and never say anything. I guess in order to say something to one person, I have to sing it to a couple of thousand. It doesn't make for healthy relationships.
I feel the need of attaining the maximum of intensity with the minimum of means. It is this which has led me to give my painting a character of even greater bareness.
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