A studio, like a poem, is an intimacy and a freedom you can look out from, into each part of your life and a little beyond.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Any woodthrush shows it - he sings, not to fill the world, but because he is filled.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes that true creation comes from genuine inspiration rather than the desire for recognition.
Jane Hirshfield's quote highlights the idea that an artist, much like the woodthrush bird, creates out of an intrinsic need to express themselves. The woodthrush sings not to impress anyone but because it is naturally moved to do so. This serves as a reminder that authentic creativity stems from inner fulfillment rather than external validation.
Themes
CreativityExpressionArtInspirationNature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the essence of art at an exhibition, one might say, 'As Jane Hirshfield beautifully put it, any woodthrush shows it - he sings, not to fill the world, but because he is filled.'
More from Jane Hirshfield
All quotes βWhat we want from art is whatever is missing from the lives we are already living and making. Something is always missing, and so art-making is endless.
Jane HirshfieldRead
as some strings, untouched, sound when no one is speaking. So it was when love slipped inside us.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Tree It is foolish to let a young redwood grow next to a house. Even in this one lifetime, you will have to choose. That great calm being, this clutter of soup pots and books-- Already the first branch-tips brush at the window. Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.
Jane HirshfieldRead
I write because to write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery. A thought was not there, then it is. An image, a story, an idea about what it is to be human, did not exist, then it does. With every new poem, an emotion new to the heart, to the world, speaks itself into being.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Zen pretty much comes down to three things -- everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention.
Jane HirshfieldRead
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