Literature is not a picture of life, but is a separate experience with its own kind of flow and enhancement.
Interpretation
Literature provides a unique experience that transcends mere representation of life.
This quote by William Stafford emphasizes that literature should not be seen as a mere reflection of real life; rather, it is an immersive experience that offers its own rhythm and depth. It suggests that reading and engaging with literature allows individuals to access a distinct understanding of the world, one that is filled with its own emotions and insights, enriching our experience beyond the limitations of reality.
In practice
In a book club, to discuss the depth of literary experiences.
I keep following this sort of hidden river of my life, you know, whatever the topic or impulse which comes, I follow it along trustingly. And I don't have any sense of its coming to a kind of crescendo, or of its petering out either. It is just going steadily along.
They miss the whisper that runs any day in your mind, "Who are you really, wanderer?"-- and the answer you have to give no matter how dark and cold the world around you is: "Maybe I'm a king.
A speech is something you say so as to distract attention from what you do not say.
The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And things you know before you hear them β those are you, those are why you are in the world.
A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.
So, the world happens twice--_x000D_ once what we see it as;_x000D_ second it legends itself_x000D_ deep, the way it is.
The office of poetry is not to make us think accurately, but feel truly.
I cannot conceive of music that expresses absolutely nothing.
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
Every building must have... its own soul.
I never expected to become a director. It never occurred to me to come to America, to Hollywood. It's all been a wonderful accident. I'm still amazed every time I finish a film.
It's a slight stretch of the imagination but most people are alike in most ways so I've never had any trouble identifying with the character that I'm playing.
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