Art does not organize parties, nor is it the servant or colleague of power. Rather, the work of art becomes a political force simply through the fait…

- Lewis Hyde

To be a great teacher, you can't simply be looking at how to earn your income. And with a priest or spiritual leader - there's another relationship t…

- Lewis Hyde

An essential portion of any artist's labor is not creation so much as invocation

- Lewis Hyde

What is it about a work of art, even when it is bought and sold in the market, that makes us distinguish it from . . . pure commodities? A work of ar…

- Lewis Hyde

A gift that cannot be given away ceases to be a gift. The spirit of a gift is kept alive by its constant donation.

- Lewis Hyde

I think of a myth as a story that helps you explain all the different pieces of your life. In that broad sense, there is no way to live without mytho…

- Lewis Hyde

The gift moves towards the empty place. As it turns in its circle it turns towards him who has been empty-handed the longest, and if someone appears …

- Lewis Hyde

But neither money nor machines can create. They shuttle tokens of energy, but they do not transform. A civilization based on them puts people out of …

- Lewis Hyde

Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium,…

- Lewis Hyde