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Prose is something that is persistent in staying in one place long enough to not only zero in on the dramatic effect of something that might have happened, or something that might have been seen, but also in watching how it played out and thinking about the cause and the effect.
Tracy K. Smith
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Prose allows for a deep examination of events and their implications.

In this quote, Tracy K. Smith emphasizes the power of prose to capture and analyze unfolding events. She highlights how it enables the writer to focus on the drama of a situation and reflect on its causes and effects, thus providing a deeper understanding of narratives and their complexities.

Themes

ProseCause And EffectDramatic EffectNarrativeWriting

In practice

Example use cases

During a literary discussion, to emphasize the importance of prose in storytelling.

More from Tracy K. Smith

We all need poetry. The moments in our lives that are characterized by language that has to do with necessity or the market, or just, you know, things that take us away from the big questions that we have, those are the things that I think urge us to think about what a poem can offer.
Tracy K. SmithRead
I wanted to write the kind of poetry that people read and remembered, that they lived by - the kinds of lines that I carried with me from moment to moment on a given day without even having chosen to.
Tracy K. SmithRead
I love the sense of looking at the sad, paltry, and yet very familiar spectacle that we must make from moment to moment in our lives, and in our frenzy, as something that's as out there as alien life.
Tracy K. SmithRead
Losing my father made me want to find out if I could come up with a version of God or the afterlife that I could feel like was acceptable now that both my parents are in it.
Tracy K. SmithRead
A question is a pursuit, an invitation to envision and explore a series of possibilities, to struggle and empathize and doubt and believe. The question moves, whereas our sense of what an answer is can often be static, a stopping point.
Tracy K. SmithRead
I had to say to myself, 'I haven't written enough about blackness, yet it's part of my consciousness and my lived experience.' I had to get over that anxiety of 'I haven't done this before.'
Tracy K. SmithRead

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