And as we stray further from love, we multiply the words. Had we remained together we could have become a silence.
Yehuda AmichaiRead
I try to stay a civilian, to live as a human, not as a poet.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a desire to live a simple, human life rather than being defined solely by one's artistic identity.
Yehuda Amichai expresses the tension between being an artist and living a grounded, ordinary life. By stating his intention to remain a 'civilian', he highlights the importance of maintaining human connections and experiences above the pressures that come with being a poet. This sentiment resonates with the idea that a person's value isnβt solely defined by their profession or artistic role, but rather their shared humanity.
Themes
HumanPoetLifeIdentityArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the balance between passion and practicality, you might quote this to emphasize the importance of staying grounded.
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The word war itself has a kind of glazing abstraction to it that conjures up bombs and bullets and so on, whereas my goal is to try to, so much as I can, capture the heart and the stomach and the back of the throat of readers who can lie in bed at night and participate in a story.
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All methods are sacred if they are internally necessary. All methods are sins if they are not justified by internal necessity.
Wassily KandinskyRead