Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan SontagRead
The only story that seems worth writing is a cry, a shot, a scream. A story should break the reader's heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the profound emotional impact that stories can have on readers, suggesting that true art exposes deep human experiences.
Susan Sontag argues that the most valuable narratives are those that evoke intense emotional responses, such as sorrow or pain. She believes that literature should not shun the difficult themes of life but instead confront them head-on, leading to transformative experiences for both the writer and the reader. A story that touches on deep emotional truths speaks to the heart of humanity, reminding us of our shared vulnerabilities and the depth of our experiences.
Themes
StoryEmotionArtWritingHeartbreak
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the power of narrative, one might quote Sontag to illustrate the emotional depth required in storytelling.
More from Susan Sontag
All quotes βScience fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.
Susan SontagRead
Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
Susan SontagRead
Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
Susan SontagRead
In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
Susan SontagRead
It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
Susan SontagRead
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Think it a vile habit to alter works of good composers, to omit parts of them, or to insert new-fashioned ornaments. This is the greatest insult you can offer to Art.
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If I would be born in New Zealand, maybe, I would never write the Polish Requiem or pieces which were connected with the history of war. But this was my childhood. War was the main subject, and also in our family.
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Writing fueled me, and my task was to make it fit into my life. I practiced my trade as an attorney, and on weekends and holidays, I typed away. I assumed a nom de plume, Selena Montgomery, to separate my fiction from more academic publications.
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