To the man with an ear for verbal delicacies- the man who searches painfully for the perfect word, and puts the way of saying a thing above the thing said - there is in writing the constant joy of sudden discovery, of happy accident.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the joy of finding the perfect words in writing, emphasizing the importance of expression over mere content.
H. L. Mencken reflects on the experience of a writer who cherishes the art of language. For such individuals, the pursuit of finding just the right word or phrase transforms writing into a joyful journey full of unexpected discoveries and delightful surprises, underscoring the beauty of linguistic expression that transcends the message itself.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech at a literary festival to celebrate the art of writing.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
What they don't teach you in art school is how your whole life is about discovering who you already were.
I never consciously place symbolism in my writing. That would be a self-conscious exercise and self-consciousness is defeating to any creative act. Better to get the subconscious to do the work for you, and get out of the way. The best symbolism is always unsuspected and natural. During a lifetime, one saves up information which collects itself around centers in the mind; these automatically become symbols on a subliminal level and need only be summoned in the heat of writing.
Grain is life, there's all this striving for perfection with digital stuff. Striving is fine, but getting there is not great. I want a sense of the human and that is what breathes life into a picture. For me, imperfection is perfection.
The best thing about being a writer is it gives you readers who understand your deepest feelings and fears.
Art remains the one way possible of speaking truth.
Free verse is like free love; it is a contradiction in terms.
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