Democracy divides people into workers and loafers. It makes no provision for those who have no time to work.
Karl KrausRead
A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer.
Interpretation
A writer transforms simple truths into complex ideas through their creativity.
This quote by Karl Kraus suggests that a writer possesses the unique ability to take straightforward answers and imbue them with layers of meaning, crafting riddles that provoke thought and invite interpretation. This reflects the artistic nature of writing, where conveying a message can often involve turning the simple into the intricate, encouraging readers to look beyond the surface.
In practice
Using this quote in a writing workshop to inspire participants about the creative process.
Democracy divides people into workers and loafers. It makes no provision for those who have no time to work.
The mission of the press is to spread culture while destroying the attention span.
War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that he too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost.
Stupidity is an elemental force for which no earthquake is a match.
Experiences are savings which a miser puts aside. Wisdom is an inheritance which a wastrel cannot exhaust.
Sexuality poorly repressed unsettles some families; well repressed, it unsettles the whole world.
What a great poem teaches you - and it's not intellectual at all - is the resonance in the language that's heard there. This goes back to the very origins of poetry and to the very origins of language.
I do most of the cooking in my head.
I refuse to go onstage without looking into the eyes and touching everyone I'm working with... we're all in it together, and everyone's an equal part when we're onstage.
A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning.
From the reader's view, a poem is more demanding than prose.
Why do people compose music? Why do people listen to music? When we go into a concert, we go into a place where we want to experience a sort of ecstasy, to come out of ourselves.
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