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.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of staying true to one's artistic vision, even at the cost of popularity or commercial success.
William T. Vollmann's quote reflects a deep commitment to the integrity of one's creative work. He expresses a desire to remain faithful to his own beliefs and instincts while writing, suggesting that the value of art lies not in its marketability but in its authenticity. This perspective champions the idea that an artist should prioritize their personal truth over societal expectations or commercial pressures, even if it leads to being unpublishable at times.
In practice
In a writing workshop discussing the importance of authenticity in 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.
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.
Chekhov directors and Chekhov actors love working on his plays because there seems to be no end to what you can find out about the micro-narrative when you're investigating a text.
The words that come direct from the people are the greatest.If you substitute one out of your own vocabulary, it disappears before your eyes.
Autobiography should be more stringent. It should adhere more to the standards of journalism - assuming that journalism has the truth. The memoir gives you more scope, is more poetic, and allows you to play around with your own life.
For my art, there is a common theme most of the time: it is using the things we can see to search for the world we cannot see.
I think that when you decide to dedicate yourself to creative endeavors and surround yourself with people who are creative, you very quickly learn how hard it is to survive doing those kinds of things, not to mention make a living at them.
I never thought fashion was the job for me, because I'm Japanese. Clothes! That was a European, society thing.
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