That is the mystery about writing: it comes out of afflictions, out of the gouged times, when the heart is cut open.
Interpretation
Writing often emerges from personal struggles and deep emotional pain.
Edna O'Brien emphasizes that the process of writing is deeply intertwined with human suffering and emotional turmoil. It suggests that profound experiences, especially those that are painful or challenging, can lead to the creation of art, as writers channel their afflictions into their work, revealing the intricate relationship between personal hardship and creativity.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of art, one might reference this quote to highlight how personal struggles can inspire great creativity.
Love . . . is like nature, but in reverse; first it fruits, then it flowers, then it seems to wither, then it goes deep, deep down into its burrow, where no one sees it, where it is lost from sight, and ultimately people die with that secret buried inside their souls.
Cities, in many ways, are the best repositories for a love affair. You are in a forest or a cornfield, you are walking by the seashore, footprint after footprint of trodden sand, and somehow the kiss or the spoken covenant gets lost in the vastness and indifference of nature. In a city there are places to remind us of what has been.
Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.
Oh, love, what an unreasoning creature it grew to be.
Recollection is not something that I can summon up, it simply comes and I am the servant of it.
It was the first time that I came face to face with madness and feared it and was fascinated by it.
Design, by definition, is an eco-friendly activity, as its aim is to create objects which are meaningful and durable. Trends always cost resources, but a true designer creates wares which will remain relevant forever.
Does an architecture to assuage the spirit have a place in all this? Unfortunately we are no longer the interpreters of our culture's myths but the followers of that dubious client, the developer, who has little patience with the art of architecture, the fine detail and obscure promise, which can upset his financial activity.
All great composers of the past spent most of their time studying. Feeling alone won't do the job. A man also needs technique.
I always believed in the music we did and that's why it was uncompromising.
What is real for me are the illusions I create with my paintings. Everything else is quicksand.
Well, certainly I don't think that there are very many good writers who don't live without a sense of tension. If they haven't got one immediately available to them, then they usually manage to manufacture it in their private lives.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.