Every island to a child is a treasure island.
P. D. JamesRead
Great literature cannot grow from a neglected or impoverished soil. Only if we actually tend or care will it transpire that every hundred years or so we might get a Middlemarch.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great literature requires nurturing and attention to flourish.
This quote by P. D. James suggests that for significant literary works to emerge, they must be cultivated in an environment that values and supports literature. Neglectful or poor conditions yield little creativity and innovation, whereas a dedication to the literary arts can produce timeless masterpieces, akin to 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot, which is regarded as one of the great novels in English literature.
Themes
LiteratureGrowthCareNurturingCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of supporting local writers, one might quote P. D. James to emphasize the need for nurturing literary talent.
More from P. D. James
All quotes →If from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.
P. D. JamesRead
I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism.
P. D. JamesRead
What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
P. D. JamesRead
Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
P. D. JamesRead
It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
P. D. JamesRead
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Translations are a partial and precious documentation of the changes the text suffers.
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Literature is an investment of genius which pays dividends to all subsequent times.
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It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.
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