Literature is not a picture of life, but is a separate experience with its own kind of flow and enhancement.
Interpretation
Literature provides a unique experience that transcends mere representation of life.
This quote by William Stafford emphasizes that literature should not be seen as a mere reflection of real life; rather, it is an immersive experience that offers its own rhythm and depth. It suggests that reading and engaging with literature allows individuals to access a distinct understanding of the world, one that is filled with its own emotions and insights, enriching our experience beyond the limitations of reality.
In practice
In a book club, to discuss the depth of literary experiences.
I keep following this sort of hidden river of my life, you know, whatever the topic or impulse which comes, I follow it along trustingly. And I don't have any sense of its coming to a kind of crescendo, or of its petering out either. It is just going steadily along.
They miss the whisper that runs any day in your mind, "Who are you really, wanderer?"-- and the answer you have to give no matter how dark and cold the world around you is: "Maybe I'm a king.
A speech is something you say so as to distract attention from what you do not say.
The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And things you know before you hear them β those are you, those are why you are in the world.
A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.
So, the world happens twice--_x000D_ once what we see it as;_x000D_ second it legends itself_x000D_ deep, the way it is.
The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date. Otherwise you begin excusing yourself. You must see the writing as emerging like a long scroll of ink from the index finger of your right hand; you must see your left hand erasing it.
Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It's an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy. (about Guernica).
People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to compositions as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied through many times.
Baseball is a ballet without music. Drama without words.
Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women.
I'll keep on acting 'til they wipe the drool. I like the business. I like to do different parts and diverse characters. I haven't lost my enthusiasm yet!
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