It's not that he lacked poetry. But his poetry was of the body, not the mind. He spoke it in the way he moved, the way he held a hammer, rowed a boat, built a fire. I, on the other hand, was like a brain in a box, a beating heart in a coal scuttle.
Interpretation
The quote contrasts two forms of expression: physical and intellectual.
Meg Rosoff reflects on the difference between two types of creativity—one that is expressed through physical actions and manual skills, as opposed to a more cerebral or abstract form of creativity. The imagery illustrates how one's artistry is shaped by their mode of interaction with the world, suggesting that true poetry can be found in actions as much as in thoughts.
In practice
During a workshop on art and movement, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of physicality in artistic expression.
Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.
Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.
I'll play it first and tell you what it is later.
Just because I'm playing jazz I don't forget about me. I play or write me, the way I feel, through jazz, or whatever.
The enemies of acting are mood and attitude and other general homogenized disruptive entities. Whereas acting is about action - doing - and unless you can figure out a way to craft in an imaginative reality to which you don't submit, you're going to be out of control. You'll flip out. The job is to be surprised.
When artists make art, they shouldn't question whether it is permissible to do one thing or another.
You know, be an actor because you love to act. Don't be an actor because you think you're going to get famous, because that's luck.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.