Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
Interpretation
The act of writing fiction is regarded as a sacred duty in societies that lack spiritual beliefs.
Gore Vidal's quote suggests that in societies where people have diminished faith or belief in traditional spiritual practices, the role of fiction writers takes on an almost sacred nature. This indicates a profound need for meaning and storytelling as a substitute for lost faith, placing writers in a position of responsibility to create narratives that resonate with the human experience.
In practice
This quote can be used to inspire writers at a literary conference.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
Envy is the central fact of American life.
I think that the point of being an architect is to help raise the experience of everyday living, even a little. Putting a window where people would really like one. Making sure a shaving mirror in a hotel bathroom is at the right angle. Making bureaucratic buildings that are somehow cheerful.
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion.
When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll end up as the Pope.' Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.
Hip-hop was created out of necessity. We needed to create some digitized things to help us understand what we were feeling.
Glamour is something more than what you put on your body. It has to do with the way you carry yourself and the impact you have on others.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.