Everybody is an expert on one thing - that's what I learned in my high school journalism class - and that's, of course, his own life. And everybody deserves to live and have his story told. And if it doesn't seem like an interesting story, then that's the failure of the listener, or the journalist who retells it badly.
Interpretation
Everyone has unique experiences and stories that are worth sharing; it's essential to listen and appreciate these narratives.
In this quote, William T. Vollmann emphasizes the idea that each individual has their own unique perspective and experiences that shape their life story. He suggests that the responsibility lies with the listener, or journalist, to recognize and convey these narratives faithfully. If a story seems uninteresting, it reflects a failure in the listener's engagement or the storyteller's ability to express it meaningfully, highlighting the importance of empathy and understanding in storytelling.
In practice
Using this quote in a workshop about personal storytelling.
There have been times when I'm writing about things that are personally embarrassing. Like any human being, sometimes I can't help but wonder - 'What are the people I know going to think about this?' So I have to remind myself that all is permissible. Art has to be a free space. Language has to be a free space.
When I'm dying, I want to think I did what I felt was best for the words I was writing. This may mean, at any time, that I won't be publishable anymore.
Two bubbles found they had rainbows on their curves. They flickered out saying: "It was worth being a bubble, just to have held that rainbow thirty seconds.
Live in such a way, that if someone speaks badly of you no one would belive it. Playing dress-up begins at age five and never truly ends.
The best way to make room for both life and career is to make choices deliberately-to set limits and stick to them.
This is how it works _x000D_ You're young until you're not _x000D_ You love until you don't _x000D_ You try until you can't _x000D_ You laugh until you cry _x000D_ You cry until you laugh _x000D_ And everyone must breathe _x000D_ Until their dying breath.
I'm luckier than my grandfather, who didn't move more than five miles from the village in which he was born.
Gay teenagers are four times as likely to attempt suicide as straight ones. I wish they knew that there's nothing wrong with them; that they are just a different shade of normal.
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