Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Luxury is the wolf at the door and its fangs are the vanities and conceits germinated by success. When an artist learns this, he knows where the danger is.
Interpretation
Luxury can lead to vanity and danger for an artist, as it often arises from success.
In this quote, Tennessee Williams warns that the allure of luxury can obscure an artist's true purpose and values. Success can bring about vanities and conceits that distract from genuine creativity, and recognizing this danger is crucial for any artist who wishes to remain authentic and connected to their work.
In practice
This quote can be used in an art class to discuss the pitfalls of commercial success.
Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door.
Time rushes towards us with its hospital tray of infinitely varied narcotics, even while it is preparing us for its inevitably fatal operation.
Show me a person who hasn´t known any sorrow and I´ll show you a superficial.
Success and failure are equally disastrous.
The rest of my days I'm going to spend on the sea. And when I die, I'm going to die on the sea. You know what I shall die of? I shall die of eating an unwashed grape. One day out on the ocean I will die — with my hand in the hand of some nice-looking ship's doctor, a very young one with a small blond moustache and a big silver watch.
Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
Music really isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s all about people relating to each other and doing something that’s really from the soul. It must come from the soul.
Being in a band turns you into a child and keeps you there.
Art is an experience, not an object.
Writing poetry is such an intense experience that it helps to start the process in a casual or wayward frame of mind.
The arts, instead of quaking along the periphery of our policy concerns, must push boldly into the core of policy. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature and help to shape our identity. The arts are not a frill and should not be treated as such. They have the potential to become the driving force for healing division and divisiveness.
I don't remember when exactly I read my first comic book, but I do remember exactly how liberated and subversive I felt as a result.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.