And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.
Mark StrandRead
There's a certain point, when you're writing autobiographical stuff, where you don't want to misrepresent yourself. It would be dishonest.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing autobiographically requires honesty to truly represent oneself.
Mark Strand emphasizes the importance of authenticity in autobiographical writing. When sharing personal stories, it is crucial to portray oneself accurately, as misrepresentation not only deceives others but also undermines one's integrity and the value of the narrative being shared.
Themes
HonestyAutobiographySelf-RepresentationWritingIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an introductory speech at a writing workshop focused on personal narratives.
More from Mark Strand
All quotes β...In another time, What cannot be seen will define us, and we shall be prompted To say that language is error, and all things are wronged By representation. The self, we shall say, can never be Seen with a disguise, and never be seen without one.
Mark StrandRead
Even this late it happens the coming of love, the coming of light. You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves, stars gather, dreams pour into your pillows, sending up warm bouquets of air. Even this late the bones of the body shine and tomorrowβs dust flares into breath.
Mark StrandRead
No voice comes from outer space, from the folds of dust and carpets of wind to tell us that this is the way it was meant to happen, that if only we knew how long the ruins would last we would never complain.
Mark StrandRead
From the shadow of domes in the city of domes,_x000D_ A snowflake, a blizzard of one, weightless, entered your room_x000D_ And made its way to the arm of the chair where you, looking up_x000D_ From your book, saw it the moment it landed. That's all_x000D_ There was to it.
Mark StrandRead
It hardly seems worthwhile to point out the shortsightedness of those practitioners who would have us believe that the form of the poem is merely its shape.
Mark StrandRead
Similar quotes
There is nothing more provocative than minding your own business.
William S. BurroughsRead
I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.
Langston HughesRead
The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him.
Thomas HardyRead
To this shadowy land, that knows neither sin nor redemption from sin, where evil is not moral but is only the pain residing forever in earthly things, Christ did not come. Christ stopped at Eboli.
Carlo LeviRead
Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another's great tribulation: not because any man's troubles are a delectable joy, but because to perceive from what ills you are free yourself is pleasant.
LucretiusRead
I would say it simply: No one can give that which he doesn't personally possess, which means we cannot transmit the Holy Spirit in an effective way, render the Spirit perceptible, if we ourselves aren't close to the Spirit.
Pope Benedict XviRead