Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.
Seamus HeaneyRead
The thing about writing is that if you have the impulse, you will find the time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing requires a genuine desire, and if that desire is present, time can always be found to do it.
Seamus Heaney's quote emphasizes the intrinsic motivation behind writing. He suggests that when one feels a strong desire or impulse to write, they will naturally prioritize it and carve out time in their busy lives to pursue that passion, regardless of external circumstances.
Themes
WritingTimeImpulsePassionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a writers' conference to inspire aspiring authors.
More from Seamus Heaney
All quotes βWhat I've said before, only half in joke, is that everybody in Ireland is famous. Or, maybe better, say everybody is familiar.
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The kinds of truth that art gives us many, many times are small truths. They don't have the resonance of an encyclical from the Pope stating an eternal truth, but they partake of the quality of eternity. There is a sort of timeless delight in them.
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If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now and then, a stance.
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In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on. And I would be counted on as an adult contributor when it came to farm work - the hay in the summertime, for example.
Seamus HeaneyRead
I think that water is immediately interesting. It's just, as an element, it is full of life. It is associated with origin; it is bright - it reflects you.
Seamus HeaneyRead
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