I want work that, possessing as thin a membrane as possible between life and art, foregrounds the question of how the writer solves being alive.
Interpretation
This quote expresses the desire for art that closely reflects the complexities of real life, emphasizing the writer's struggle with existence.
David Shields highlights the intricate relationship between art and life, suggesting that true artistic expression should minimize barriers between the two. The quote reflects a philosophical inquiry into how writers navigate their experiences of being alive, prompting deeper reflections on the nature of creativity and existence.
In practice
In a panel discussion on contemporary literature, one might quote this to highlight the importance of authenticity in writing.
I'm interested in non-fiction, but a form of it which is very badly behaved, which doesn't define itself as straight-ahead journalism or memoir. It blurs boundaries, plays fast and loose with the truth - not to be silly, whimsical or lazy, but to get greater purchase on what it feels like to be alive.
Memory exercised in a particular way is a natural gift of poetic genius. The poet above all else, is a person who never forgets certain sense impressions which he has experienced and which he can relive again as though with all their original freshness.
In a poem the excitement has to maintain itself. I am governed by the pull of the sentence as the pull of a fabric is governed by gravity.
Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.
There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe was an invention of hers. A genius invention that she created, like an author creates a character. She understood photography, and she also understood what makes a great photograph. She related to it as if she were giving a performance. She gave more to the still camera than any actress-any woman- I've ever photographed.
They seemed to forget that the increase of known truths stimulates the investigation, establishment and growth of the arts; not their dimination or destruction.
Sometimes I write from the point of view of characters whom I would dislike as people, not as a perverse exercise, but because this cracks the story open and makes me see it in a way I would not see it naturally.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.