The idea of some people being less than people is poison to any society and needs to be named as such in order to halt its spread before it turns the soul of a society septic.
Richard FlanaganRead
Generally, literary prizes are significant not for who the winner is but the discussion they create around books.
Interpretation
Literary prizes foster important conversations about literature rather than just celebrating individual authors.
Richard Flanagan's quote highlights the value of literary prizes beyond merely identifying a winner; it emphasizes the dialogue and discussions that prizes generate about literature and its relevance. The conversations sparked by awards can elevate the literary landscape, allowing diverse voices and perspectives to be explored and appreciated, which enriches the cultural discourse surrounding books.
In practice
In a workshop on literature, discussing this quote can encourage participants to reflect on the impact of literary awards.
The idea of some people being less than people is poison to any society and needs to be named as such in order to halt its spread before it turns the soul of a society septic.
I never know what I am writing. The moment you know what you're writing, you're writing nothing worth reading.
My father was a Japanese prisoner of war, a survivor of the Thai-Burma Death Railway, built by a quarter of a million slave labourers in 1943. Between 100,000 and 200,000 died.
If 30 Australians drowned in Sydney Harbour, it would be a national tragedy. But when 30 or more refugees drown off the Australian coast, it is a political question.
Is it easier for a man to live his life again as a fish, than to accept the wonder of being human? So alone, so frightened, so wanting for what we are afraid to give tongue to.
I do not share the pessimism of the age about the novel. They are one of our greatest spiritual, aesthetic and intellectual inventions. As a species it is story that distinguishes us, and one of the supreme expressions of story is the novel. Novels are not content. Nor are they are a mirror to life or an explanation of life or a guide to life. Novels are life, or they are nothing.
I've always felt toward the slightest scene, even if all I had to do in a scene was just to come in and say, 'Hi,' that the people ought to get their money's worth and that this is an obligation of mine, to give them the best you can get from me.
The trap into which all writers have, will, or should fall into, of writing The Great American Watchamacallit, is such an uncluttered and inviting one that from time to time I'm sure even the greatest have to pull themselves up short by the Shift key to remind themselves that it is story first that they should write.
To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits while watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste.
Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
I put things down on sheets of paper and stuff them in my pockets. When I have enough, I have a book.
Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.
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