Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere... You don't have to dress up, for instance, and you can't hear them boo you right away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the unique power of writing and self-expression, allowing one to connect with others without physical presence.
Anne Lamott's quote underscores the transformative impact of being published or having one's thoughts in print. It illustrates the concept that through writing, individuals can achieve recognition and influence without the pressure of real-time social interactions, such as presenting oneself in person where immediate reactions can be daunting. This speaks to the liberating aspects of artistic expression and the role of written words in reaching an audience.
Themes
WritingExpressionPublicationAttentionArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the power of storytelling, one might cite this quote to emphasize how writing allows us to be heard without direct confrontation.
More from Anne Lamott
All quotes βOr you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
Anne LamottRead
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
Anne LamottRead
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
Anne LamottRead
Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
Anne LamottRead
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Anne LamottRead
Similar quotes
Ads are the cave art of the twentieth century.
Marshall McluhanRead
Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.
Edward HopperRead
I like everything that has no style: dictionaries, photographs, nature, myself and my paintings. (Because style is violent, and I am not violent.)
Gerhard RichterRead
Good novels are produced by people who voluntarily isolate themselves and go deep, and report from the depths on what they find.
Jonathan FranzenRead
When we talk about music, we talk about our reaction to it. One person might say that music is so poetic, while another says it's all mathematics. Yet another might say it's about sensuality, and so on. That's all true. But music is not just one of these things. It's everything all at once.
Daniel BarenboimRead
What my character is or how many jails I have lounged in, or wards or walls or wassails, how many lonely-heart poetry readings I have dodged, is beside the point. A man's soul or lack of it will be evident with what he can carve upon a white sheet of paper.
Charles BukowskiRead