The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of expressing profound and complex emotions through language.
In this quote, Anais Nin conveys the idea that words often fail to capture the depth of human experience, particularly in relation to sensuality and creativity. She acknowledges her tendency to embellish her narrative, suggesting that true feelings are often concealed behind a veneer of language. This highlights the ongoing quest for authentic expression and the tension between reality and artifice in the pursuit of conveying one's innermost truths.
Themes
ExpressionLanguageSensualityCreativityDepth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the limitations of language in capturing true emotions.
More from Anais Nin
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We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
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The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
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We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
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I gathered poets around me and we all wrote beautiful erotica. As we were condemned to focus only on sensuality, we had violent explosions of poetry. Writing erotica became a road to sainthood rather than to debauchery.
Anais NinRead
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