I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.
In all my life, I have never been free. I have never been able to do anything with freedom, except in the field of my writing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the idea that true freedom is often limited and can only be fully expressed through one's passion or craft.
Langston Hughes articulates a profound realization about the constraints of life and the nature of freedom. While he acknowledges the absence of personal liberty throughout his existence, he highlights writing as the singular realm where he experiences true freedom. This reveals a deep connection between creativity and the essence of liberation, suggesting that artistic expression may be the only avenue for genuine self-determination and autonomy.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a literary event, I shared Hughes' quote to emphasize the importance of art as a means of personal freedom.
More from Langston Hughes
All quotes βMy writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.
I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.
An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.
The calm, Cool face of the river, Asked me for a kiss
The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it.
Similar quotes
None so little enjoy themselves, and are such burdens to themselves, as those who have nothing to do. Only the active have the true relish of life.
If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.
I am not someone who is ashamed of my past. I'm actually really proud. I know I made a lot of mistakes, but they in turn were my life lessons.
Any fool may write a most valuable book by chance, if he will only tell us what he heard and saw with veracity.
Our patience will achieve more than our force.
I started inventing things, and then I couldn't stop, like beavers, which I know about. People think they cut down trees so they can build dams, but in reality it's because their teeth never stop growing, and if they didn't constantly file them down by cutting through all of those trees, their teeth would start to grow into their own faces, which would kill them. That's how my brain was.