The non-artists among us are always terribly busy, but finally disappear without a trace.
Interpretation
Only artists leave a lasting impact on the world; others, despite their busyness, fade away.
In this quote, Helen Vendler reflects on the nature of artistic contribution versus a life filled with mundane busyness. She suggests that while many people occupy their time and energy in incessant activities, it is the artists—those who create and express—who leave a profound imprint on the world, highlighting the distinction between meaningful creation and mere existence.
In practice
In a speech at an art gala, one could say, 'As Helen Vendler noted, while the busy may disappear, artists leave a legacy that endures.'
For the mind and the imagination, bookstores aren't enough, college courses aren't enough, the Internet isn't enough. Those resources are all governed by the tastes and needs of the moment. Only libraries take the long view, quietly shelving the unused with the used, knowing that one of these days the two categories will be reversed by a student's discovery of those hitherto undisturbed volumes whose contents will unsettle the learned world.
Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where we listened to all kinds of music. We listened to Haitian, hip hop, soul, classical jazz, gospel and Cuban music, to name a few. When you have access to that as a child, it just opens up your world.
I'm not responsible for my photographs. Photography is not documentary, but intuition, a poetic experience. It's drowning yourself, dissolving yourself, and then sniff, sniff, sniff - being sensitive to coincidence. You can't go looking for it; you can't want it, or you won't get it. First you must lose your self. Then it happens.
Even when I'm writing plays I enjoy having company and mentally I think of that company as the company I'm writing for.
A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.
Don't play what's there, play what's not there.
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