Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
Interpretation
The act of writing fiction is regarded as a sacred duty in societies that lack spiritual beliefs.
Gore Vidal's quote suggests that in societies where people have diminished faith or belief in traditional spiritual practices, the role of fiction writers takes on an almost sacred nature. This indicates a profound need for meaning and storytelling as a substitute for lost faith, placing writers in a position of responsibility to create narratives that resonate with the human experience.
In practice
This quote can be used to inspire writers at a literary conference.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
Envy is the central fact of American life.
I refused to accept anything, doubted everything. So, doubting everything, I had to find something that had not existed before, something I had not thought of before. Any idea that came to me, the thing would be to turn it around and try to see it with another set of senses.
My voice is unadorned. I don't try for perfection. I try to be honest and truthful and soulful with the voice I have. If I make mistakes in notes, or there are cracks in notes, I don't fix them. That's the way it is.
I am a better novelist than a poet, playwright, or essayist.
The film project has been βtwenty years of constipation,β and he likens the Hollywood process to βtrying to grill a steak by having a succession of people coming into the room and breathing on it.β
In poetry you can express almost inexpressible feelings. You can express the pain of loss, you can express love. People always turn to poetry when someone they love dies, when they fall in love.
Saints have no moderation, nor do poets, just exuberance.
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