In apartments and cottages, on the street and in the train... I listen... More and more, I turn into one large ear, always turning to another person.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
Flaubert called himself a human pen; I would say that I am a human ear. When I walk down the street and catch words, phrases, and exclamations, I always think - how many novels disappear without a trace! Disappear into darkness.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the role of the observer in art and literature, emphasizing the importance of capturing fleeting moments and expressions.
Svetlana Alexievich likens her role as a writer to that of a listener, contrasting with Flaubert's view of himself as a creator. She suggests that many voices and stories go unnoticed and unrecorded, highlighting the ephemeral nature of human expression and the responsibility of writers to preserve these narratives in their works.
In practice
In a lecture about the importance of oral history, this quote can illustrate how many untold stories exist around us.
In apartments and cottages, on the street and in the train... I listen... More and more, I turn into one large ear, always turning to another person.
The subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.
'Women's' war has its own colors, its own smells, its own lighting, and its own range of feelings. There are no heroes and incredible feats; there are simply people who are busy doing inhumanly human things.
There is no need to give in to the compromise that totalitarian regimes always count on.
I've been searching for a genre that would be most adequate to my vision of the world to convey how my ear hears and my eyes see life. I tried this and that, and finally, I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves. But I don't just record a dry history of events and facts; I'm writing a history of human feelings.
From the point of view of art, the butcher and the victim are equal as people. You need to see the people.
Every artist, every scientist, every writer must decide now where he stands. The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.
My elaboration of the story always conforms to the reality at its source. It is always close to the world, the life, the reality it describes. No matter where I go, I’m still holding up a mirror.
So, in some ways, the political songs tend to be a bit more like reportage, whereas the love songs tend to be like novels, you can pick them up off the shelf and go into them any time.
I am happy to be a regional writer. My region is the American West, old Mexico, West Virginia, New York, Europe, Australia, the human heart, and the male groin.
Painting doesn't freeze time. It circulates and recycles time like a wheel that turns. Those who were first might well be last. Painting is a very slow art. It doesn't travel with the speed of light. That's why dead painters shine so bright.
There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.
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