If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Imagine writing a poem with a sweating, worried-looking boy handing you a different pencil at the end of every word. My golf, you may say, is no poem; nevertheless, I keep wanting it to be one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of artistic creation and the desire for it to be perfect, despite inherent challenges.
In this quote, John Updike uses the metaphor of a boy delivering a different pencil for each word to illustrate the difficulties and frustrations that can accompany the creative process. The comparison of golf to poetry suggests that while he may not consider his golf a form of art, he still longs for it to be beautiful and meaningful, highlighting the inherent aspiration of creators to elevate their work to something greater.
Themes
ArtCreationGolfPerfectionStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the artistic process in a workshop.
More from John Updike
All quotes →Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
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Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
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But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
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The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
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To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
John UpdikeRead
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