Thereβs a difference between being alone and being lonely. Writers know that. I have never met a writer who does not crave to be alone. We have to be alone to do what we do.
Mary RuefleRead
The origins of poetry are clearly rooted in obscurity, in secretiveness, in incantation, in spells that must at once invoke and protect, tell the secret and keep it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that poetry arises from mysterious and sacred elements, serving both to reveal and to conceal truths.
Mary Ruefle's quote explores the complex nature of poetry, emphasizing its origins in obscurity and the balance between revealing secrets and guarding them. Poetry, akin to incantations and spells, operates in a realm where language not only expresses ideas but also evokes deeper, hidden meanings that resonate with the reader, reflecting the duality of openness and secrecy intrinsic to the poetic form.
Themes
PoetryObscuritySecrecyArtLanguage
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a poetry workshop to inspire discussions about the mystical elements of poetic creation.
More from Mary Ruefle
All quotes βSimilar quotes
Musicals are, by nature, theatrical, meaning poetic, meaning having to move the audience's imagination and create a suspension of disbelief, by which I mean there's no fourth wall.
Stephen SondheimRead
I don't want to express alienation. It isn't what I feel. I'm interested in various kinds of passionate engagement. All my work says be serious, be passionate, wake up.
Susan SontagRead
You should play with real musicians; the best music comes from real people interacting with each other.
John FogertyRead
They seemed to forget that the increase of known truths stimulates the investigation, establishment and growth of the arts; not their dimination or destruction.
Galileo GalileiRead
It's a funny thing about stories. It doesn't feel like you make them up, more like you find them. You type and type and you know you haven't got it yet, because somewhere out there, there's that perfect thing -- the unexpected ending that was always going to happen. That place you've always been heading for, but never expected to go.
Steven MoffatRead
I search for surprise in my architecture. A work of art should cause the emotion of newness.
Oscar NiemeyerRead