I'm a storyteller who wants to tell untold, meaningful, universal stories in unforgettable ways. I want to do it all, study it all, and find my place in it.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire to share important stories that resonate universally and leave a significant impact.
Janelle Monae's quote captures the essence of a storyteller's ambition to unearth and convey narratives that are both meaningful and universal. It reflects a deep commitment to artistic expression, illustrating a vision of storytelling that transcends personal experiences to connect with larger, shared human truths. The insistence on doing it all and studying everything suggests a relentless pursuit of knowledge and understanding, emphasizing the importance of finding one's place in the vast tapestry of existence through art.
In practice
In a speech about creative arts, one might quote this to inspire young writers.
I have a great body, I really do. But I want to be taken seriously as an artist, and wearing anything that shows it off will be a distraction from the music. That's how my signature uniform, my tuxedo, came about. It's classic and timeless. You'll see me in black, white, and a pop of color on my lips. That pop adds a little magic.
Redefine what it means to be sexy and what it means to be a woman. Showing my skin is not what makes me sexy. I like skirts and dresses just like everyone else, but I had a message I needed to put out there. It was up to me to show people and young girls there was another way.
Even if it makes others comfortable, I will LOVE who I am
I have not lost any of my crazy, fearless, raw, soulful, eclectic side and I plan on continuing to tell universal stories in an unforgettable way.
Perfection is often the enemy of greatness.
It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.
If an essay has a 'motive,' it is linked more to happenstance and opportunity than to the driven will. A genuine essay is not a doctrinaire tract or a propaganda effort or a broadside.
We sit down before the picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work of art makes upon us is surrender. Look. Listen. Receive. Get yourself out of the way (there is no good asking first whether the work before you deserves such a surrender, for until you have surrendered you cannot possibly find out.
There aren't that many things left that haven't already been done, especially with music. I'm interested in ideas that can shake us all up.
Be With Me In The Phases Of My Work Because My Brain Feels Like It Has Been Whipped And I Yearn To Make A Small Perfect Thing Which Will Live In Your Morning Like Curious Static Through A President's Elegy Or A Nude Hunchback Acquiring A Tan On The Crowded Oily Beach.
A short story is confined to one mood, to which everything in the story pertains. Characters, setting, time, events, are all subject to the mood. And you can try more ephemeral, more fleeting things in a story - you can work more by suggestion - than in a novel. Less is resolved, more is suggested, perhaps.
I am never happier than when I have something to compose, for that, after all, is my sole delight and passion
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