It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creative writing allows the author to express their inner self and thoughts openly.
E.B. White's quote emphasizes that all forms of writing serve as a means of communication, but creative writing holds a unique power; it enables the writer to unveil their deepest truths and emotions, allowing their true self to emerge and connect with others on a profound level. This act of revelation transforms mere words into a conduit for personal expression and understanding.
Themes
WritingCommunicationCreativityExpressionSelf
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, the instructor cited this quote to motivate students to uncover their true voices.
More from E. B. White
All quotes →It isn't silence you can cut with a knife any more, it's interchange of ideas. Intelligent discussion of practically everything is what is breaking up modern marriage.
E. B. WhiteRead
The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
E. B. WhiteRead
A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
E. B. WhiteRead
A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
E. B. WhiteRead
Writing is not an exercise in excision, it's a journey into sound.
E. B. WhiteRead
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I think it's silly for anyone to think you could write under the influence, but if they'd like to think that, I'd like to keep the legend alive. Maybe I was under the influence when I wrote Jesus' Son and I just didn't know it.
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