It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her life experience, prejudices, worldview and thoughts.
Annie ProulxRead
But the only rhyme he could summon for 'out' was 'sauerkraut,' which lacked poetic glory. He let it go. The right line would come in time. That was the thing about poetry. It crept up through the draws and coulees of the brain.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creativity takes time and the right inspiration will eventually come.
In this quote, Annie Proulx reflects on the nature of the creative process, particularly in poetry. She emphasizes that true poetic expression may take time to develop and that one must be patient, allowing ideas to naturally evolve rather than forcing them, as inspiration often emerges organically from within the mind.
Themes
CreativityPoetryInspirationPatienceArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech to aspiring poets, to encourage them to trust their creative process.
More from Annie Proulx
All quotes →No wonder, he thought, that the panhandle people were a godly lot, for they lived in sudden, violent atmospheres. Weather kept them humble.
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You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.
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I think it's important to leave spaces in a story for readers to fill in from their own experience.
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If a piece of knotted string can unleash the wind, and if a drowned man can awaken, then I believe a broken man can heal.
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It takes a year, nephew... a full turn of the calendar, to get over losing someone.
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