The job of a storyteller is to speak the truth. But what we feel most deeply can’t be spoken in words alone. At this level, only images connect. And here, story becomes symbol; symbol is myth. And myth is truth.
Interpretation
Storytellers convey deep truths through symbols and images rather than mere words.
In this quote, Alan Garner emphasizes the profound nature of storytelling, suggesting that the truest feelings and experiences often cannot be fully captured through words alone. Instead, the storyteller employs symbols and images that resonate on a deeper level, transforming simple narratives into powerful myths that convey greater truths about the human experience.
In practice
In a workshop on creative writing, one might use this quote to discuss the importance of imagery in storytelling.
We do not evaluate the result but the starting point of the creative process. Precisely, this shows whether the form was discovered by starting from life, or for its own sake. That is why I consider the creative process so essential. Life for us is the decisive factor.
Great art is always a way of concentrating, reinventing what is called fact, what we know of our existence- a reconcentration… tearing away the veils, the attitudes people acquire of their time and earlier time. Really good artists tear down those veils
I want to lead the Victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter.
Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul.
Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.
If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.
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