Give me hunger, pain and want, Shut me out with shame and failure From your doors of gold and fame, Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger! But leave me a little love.
Carl SandburgRead
All my life I have been trying to learn, to read, to see and hear, and to write. At sixty-five I began my first novel and after the five years, lacking a month, I took to finish it, I was still traveling, still a seeker.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning and the pursuit of one's passions, regardless of age.
Carl Sandburg's quote reflects the idea that the quest for knowledge and creative expression is a continuous journey that transcends age. Even at sixty-five, he demonstrates that one can embark on new endeavors such as writing a novel, highlighting that the spirit of inquiry and exploration never truly ends. It serves as an inspiration to embrace learning and creativity throughout one's life.
Themes
LearningNovelAgeLifeWriting
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a motivational speech about pursuing dreams at any age.
More from Carl Sandburg
All quotes →Nothing happens... but first a dream.
Carl SandburgRead
Read the dictionary from A to Izzard today. Get a vocabulary. Brush up on your diction. See whether wisdom is just a lot of language.
Carl SandburgRead
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Carl SandburgRead
There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.
Carl SandburgRead
A liar goes in fine clothes, a liar goes in rags, a liar is a liar, clothes or no clothes.
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Once you have learned to trust your own voice and allowed that creative force inside you to come out, you can direct it to write short stories, novels, and poetry, do revisions, and so on. You have the basic tool to fulfill your writing dreams. But beware. This type of writing will uncover other dreams you have, too-going to Tibet, being the first woman president of the United States, building a solar studio in New Mexico-and they will be in black and white. It will be harder to avoid them.
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If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.
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