Balm of the summer night, balm of the ordinary, imperial joy and sorrow of human existence, the dreamed as well as the lived— what could be dearer than this, given the closeness of death?
Louise GluckRead
Toward his critics, the artist harbors a defensive ace: knowledge that the future will erase the present.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The artist understands that criticism is temporary, as future perspectives will change the relevance of current judgments.
In this quote, Louise Glück conveys the idea that artists often feel defensive against their critics, finding solace in the belief that the opinions of today will fade with time. This perspective enables them to continue creating, regardless of immediate criticism, as history has a way of reshaping the value and interpretation of their work.
Themes
ArtCriticsFuturePerspectiveDefense
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about artistic expression at a gallery opening.
More from Louise Gluck
All quotes →I pretended indifference…even in the presence of love, in the presence of hunger. And the more deeply I felt, the less able I was to respond.
Louise GluckRead
I caution you as I was never cautioned: You will never let go, you will never be satiated. You will be damaged and scarred, you will continue to hunger. Your body will age, you will continue to need. You will want the earth, then more of the earth-- Sublime, indifferent, it is present, it will not respond. It is encompassing, it will not minister. Meaning, it will feed you, it will ravish you. It will not keep you alive.
Louise GluckRead
The Red Poppy The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me. I have a lord in heaven called the sun, and open for him, showing him the fire of my own heart, fire like his presence. What could such glory be if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters, were you like me once, long ago, before you were human? Did you permit yourselves to open once, who would never open again? Because in truth I am speaking now the way you do. I speak because I am shattered.
Louise GluckRead
He takes her in his arms He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you But he thinks this is a lie, so he says in the end You're dead, nothing can hurt you which seems to him a more promising beginning, more true.
Louise GluckRead
I preferred the simplest vocabulary.
Louise GluckRead
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