What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing can either be a commercially driven activity or an artistic pursuit focused on creativity and intrinsic value.
Willa Cather's quote emphasizes the dual nature of writing: it can be a pragmatic endeavor aimed at fulfilling market demands, akin to producing common goods like soap or breakfast foods, or it can be a profound artistic expression driven by the quest for innovation and originality, independent of commercial considerations. This highlights the tension between commercial viability and artistic integrity in the literary world.
Themes
WritingArtCreativityMarketStories
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop discussing the balance between commercial writing and creative projects.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes →That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
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Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
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The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
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This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
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Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
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