Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.
Interpretation
Being overly self-aware hinders creative expression in all forms of art and life.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury suggests that self-consciousness acts as a barrier to genuine artistic expression, whether in performing arts, visual arts, or even in how one lives their life. He argues that true artistry comes from a place of authenticity and freedom from self-doubt, implying that living authentically is the highest form of art one can achieve.
In practice
This quote can be used as a motivational reminder for artists during a creative block.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Conversation is an art in which a man has all mankind for his competitors, for it is that which all are practising every day while they live.
To my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering 'I want to be white,' hidden in the aspirations of his people, to 'Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro - and beautiful!'
The worst evil which can befall the artist is that his work should appear good in his own eyes.
Is he on his horse? O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!
I love that moment just before the curtain goes up, whether I'm sitting in the audience or standing backstage. It's full of expectation. It's a thrill that's unequaled anywhere.
The orange sky is rolling across the sky like a severed head, gentle light glimmers in the ravines among the clouds, the banners of the sunset are fluttering above our heads. The stench of yesterday’s blood and slaughtered horses drips into the evening chill.
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