I think the trouble with artists or chefs who whine about criticism is that if you love the good reviews, you have to at least read the bad ones.
Jim HarrisonRead
That's my only defense against this world: to build a sentence out of it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that writing is a way to make sense of and protect oneself from the chaos of the world.
In this quote, Jim Harrison reflects on the power of language and writing as a means of coping with the complexities and challenges of life. By constructing sentences, he indicates a desire to create order from confusion, implying that writing serves not only as a defense mechanism but also as a form of personal expression and understanding in an unpredictable world.
Themes
WritingLanguageDefenseUnderstandingLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the therapeutic power of writing.
More from Jim Harrison
All quotes βHow wonderful it was to love something without the compromise of language.
Jim HarrisonRead
The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is don't do it unless you're willing to give your whole life to it. Red wine and garlic also helps.
Jim HarrisonRead
We are delightfully trapped by our memories. I can't drink a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape Vieux Telegraphe without revisiting a hotel bistro in Luzerne, Switzerland, where I ate a large bowl of a peppery Basque baby goat stew. A sip and a bite. A bite and sip. Goose bumps come with the divine conjunction of food and wine.
Jim HarrisonRead
Fiction writers tend to err either making people more than they are or less than they are. I'd rather err on the side of the former.
Jim HarrisonRead
Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness. And they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy... or they become legend.
Jim HarrisonRead
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