By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many.
J. K. RowlingRead
Magic has universal appeal. I don't believe in magic in the way that I describe in my books, but I'd love it to be real.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a longing for the enchantment of magic, despite recognizing that it is fictional.
In this quote, J.K. Rowling reflects on the allure of magic and its capacity to captivate people's imaginations. She acknowledges that while she does not believe in magic as portrayed in her stories, she still wishes it were real, highlighting the universal appeal of magical elements in storytelling and their ability to inspire wonder and escapism.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about creativity and the power of imagination.
By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many.
Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?” James lifted an invisible sword. “‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.” Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. “Got a problem with that?” “No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy —” “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius.
Depression isn't just being a bit sad. It's feeling nothing. It's not wanting to be alive anymore.
I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.
Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective, doesn't it?
The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.
I'm now making myself as scummy as I can. Why? I want to be a poet, and I'm working at turning myself into a seer. You won't understand any of this, and I'm almost incapable of explaining it to you. The idea is to reach the unknown by the derangement of all the senses. It involves enormous suffering, but one must be strong and be a born poet. It's really not my fault.
I have to accept my role. I will never kill myself like Vincent Van Gogh. Nor will I paint beautiful water lilies like Monet. I can't do that. I'm in the idiot role of being a kiddie book person.
I get little kids who recognize me from 'Mary Poppins,' and it just delights me because it's our third generation.
The strange dilemma of the 'ethnic-fiction' writer is that you are supposed to carry a banner for your homeland, be a voice for it, and educate the rest of the world about it, but I think that's far too onerous a burden for any writer to bear.
When it all comes together, a creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love and faith.
Film is this incredible medium that allows us to feel empathy for people that are very different than us and worlds completely foreign from our own.
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