Teaching has ruined more American novelists than drink.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the influence of education on American novelists can be more detrimental to their creativity than alcohol.
Gore Vidal's quote highlights a provocative perspective on the impact of formal education, specifically in the field of writing. It implies that the conventional teaching methods and structures associated with literature can stifle originality and creativity, ultimately hindering the development of the novelist's voice and perspective. Instead of fostering free thought and innovation, education may impose constraints that can limit artistic expression, comparable to the effects of excessive drinking.
In practice
Using this quote at a writer's workshop to encourage participants to think outside the box.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
You can't have a sustainable US economy without a great education system. Teach students to do the job right. You don't have an innovative economy unless you have a great education.
Academe, n.: An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught. Academy, n.: A modern school where football is taught.
For a lot of us, awareness is merely realizing the extent to which we've been lied to all our lives. You start educating yourself. You become motivated; you follow your muse where it takes you. And you see the world in a different way. You start making decisions based on what you feel is right.
The women of this country ought be enlightened in regard to the laws under which they live, that they may no longer publish their degradation by declaring themselves satisfied with their present position, nor their ignorance, by asserting that they have all the rights they want.
Far too often, girls are not given the space and opportunities they need to achieve their full potential.
Education is the transmission of civilization.
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