Making art in America is about saving one's soul.
Charles SimicRead
Insomnia is an all-night travel agency with posters advertising faraway places.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Insomnia can transport our minds to distant, imaginative places, despite the discomfort it brings.
Charles Simic's quote suggests that insomnia, while often seen as a negative experience, can lead to a form of mental travel where we explore creative and imaginative realms. The 'travel agency' metaphor implies that during sleepless nights, one's mind wanders to places not bound by the limitations of physical reality, offering a unique perspective on the struggles associated with sleeplessness.
Themes
InsomniaTravelImaginationCreativityMental Journey
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the creative aspects of insomnia in a seminar on mental health.
More from Charles Simic
All quotes →I was already dozing off in the shade, dreaming that the rustling trees were my many selves explaining themselves all at the same time so that I could not make out a single word. My life was a beautiful mystery on the verge of understanding, always on the verge! Think of it!
Charles SimicRead
The plain truth is we are going to die. Here I am, a teeny spec surrounded by boundless space and time, arguing with the whole of creation, shaking my fist, sputtering, growing even eloquent at times, and then-poof! I am gone. Swept off once and for all. I think that is very, very funny.
Charles SimicRead
A poem is an invitation to a voyage. As in life, we travel to see fresh sights.
Charles SimicRead
If I believe in anything, it is in the dark night of the soul. Awe is my religion, and mystery is its church.
Charles SimicRead
We name one thing and then another. That’s how time enters poetry. Space, on the other hand, comes into being through the attention we pay to each word. The more intense our attention, the more space, and there’s a lot of space inside words.
Charles SimicRead
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