A studio, like a poem, is an intimacy and a freedom you can look out from, into each part of your life and a little beyond.
Jane HirshfieldRead
My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part of, and then press it a little further.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the role of a writer (and human) in deeply experiencing life and expressing those experiences creatively.
Jane Hirshfield conveys that the primary responsibility of both a writer and a human is to fully immerse oneself in the richness of life's experiences. This deep engagement with the world allows individuals to explore and articulate the nuances of their feelings, ultimately pushing the boundaries of understanding and creativity through their work.
Themes
ExperienceWritingHumanityCreativityLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on creative writing, a participant could use this quote to underline the importance of personal experience in storytelling.
More from Jane Hirshfield
All quotes →What we want from art is whatever is missing from the lives we are already living and making. Something is always missing, and so art-making is endless.
Jane HirshfieldRead
as some strings, untouched, sound when no one is speaking. So it was when love slipped inside us.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Tree It is foolish to let a young redwood grow next to a house. Even in this one lifetime, you will have to choose. That great calm being, this clutter of soup pots and books-- Already the first branch-tips brush at the window. Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.
Jane HirshfieldRead
I write because to write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery. A thought was not there, then it is. An image, a story, an idea about what it is to be human, did not exist, then it does. With every new poem, an emotion new to the heart, to the world, speaks itself into being.
Jane HirshfieldRead
Zen pretty much comes down to three things -- everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention.
Jane HirshfieldRead
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An artist cannot be partially sincere any more than art can be an approximation of beauty.
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