Insomnia is an all-night travel agency with posters advertising faraway places.
Charles SimicRead
Making art in America is about saving one's soul.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the profound personal and spiritual significance of creating art in America.
Charles Simic's quote highlights the idea that the act of making art serves as a vital expression of one's inner self and identity, particularly within the American context. It suggests that, amidst societal challenges and pressures, engaging in art is a way to preserve and nurture one's soul, making it both a personal and cultural necessity.
In practice
In a discussion about the role of art in society, this quote can illustrate how artistic expression serves a deeper purpose.
Insomnia is an all-night travel agency with posters advertising faraway places.
I was already dozing off in the shade, dreaming that the rustling trees were my many selves explaining themselves all at the same time so that I could not make out a single word. My life was a beautiful mystery on the verge of understanding, always on the verge! Think of it!
The plain truth is we are going to die. Here I am, a teeny spec surrounded by boundless space and time, arguing with the whole of creation, shaking my fist, sputtering, growing even eloquent at times, and then-poof! I am gone. Swept off once and for all. I think that is very, very funny.
A poem is an invitation to a voyage. As in life, we travel to see fresh sights.
If I believe in anything, it is in the dark night of the soul. Awe is my religion, and mystery is its church.
We name one thing and then another. That’s how time enters poetry. Space, on the other hand, comes into being through the attention we pay to each word. The more intense our attention, the more space, and there’s a lot of space inside words.
Believe me... I've made a career out of being the right thing in the wrong space and the wrong thing in the right space. That's one thing... I really do know about.
Directing is creating a whole. You're able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.
As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of space in which they are insecure.
Good art theory must smell of the studio, although its language should differ from the household talk of painters and sculptors.
When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens.
A recurring ideal, I find, is that of simplicity. At times there comes the desire to write with great precision and clarity, words so simple and moving that they bring tears to the eyes.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.