Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
Khalil GibranRead
If you want to be an entertainer, then go be an entertainer and give people what they want. If you want to be an artist, then you have to be true to yourself, and you have to be prepared to confront expectations - and you have to be prepared to disappoint your fans, too.
Interpretation
Pursue your passion with authenticity, even at the risk of disappointing others.
This quote emphasizes the distinction between being an entertainer and an artist, highlighting that true artistry requires honesty and self-awareness. While entertainers may cater to audience desires, artists must remain true to their vision, even if it means facing disappointment from fans who have different expectations.
In practice
In a speech about pursuing creative careers, this quote can inspire aspiring artists to embrace authenticity.
Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
There's no getting around it: Writing is hard, while working with young performers is nearly always a joy.
Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
If a poet does not tell the truth about time, his or her work will not survive it. Past or present, there is a human dimension to time, human voices within it, and human griefs ordained by it.
How I have walked... day after day, and all alone, to see if there was not something among the old things which was new!
The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.
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