Ma's still nodding. "You're the one who matters, though. Just you." I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.
Emma DonoghueRead
Writing stories is my way of scratching that itch: my escape from the claustrophobia of individuality. It lets me, at least for a while, live more than one life, walk more than one path. Reading, of course, can do the same.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing and reading provide an escape from the confines of individual experience, allowing exploration of different lives and paths.
In this quote, Emma Donoghue expresses the profound impact of storytelling and reading on the human experience. Through writing stories, she finds a means to transcend her individual limitations and explore multiple perspectives, experiences, and narratives, evoking a sense of freedom and possibility. Similarly, reading allows individuals to step into the shoes of others and experience different lives, broadening their understanding of the world.
Themes
WritingReadingStoriesEscapeIndividuality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literature, you might say, 'As Emma Donoghue wisely noted, writing stories is my way of scratching that itch.'
More from Emma Donoghue
All quotes →Ah yes, the paradox of publicity is that even as we do it, we know it's killing off the chance of another reader happening across our book in the ideal state of innocence.
Emma DonoghueRead
At the door, there was one of those moment when two people realize that they like each other more than they know each other. This is nicer than the opposite situation, but more awkward. You try to remember the protocol for touching. You hate to gush, or presume to much, yet you are unwilling to let the moment pass without without some gesture
Emma DonoghueRead
You cannot predict literary success; the only way you can possibly aim for it is to do your thing and do it well.
Emma DonoghueRead
Books are the air I breathe, so I don't notice the seasons.
Emma DonoghueRead
...real loneliness is having no one to miss. Think yourself lucky you've known something worth missing.
Emma DonoghueRead
Similar quotes
The artist in our time has two chief responsibilities: (1) art; and (2) sedition.
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I don't make any distinction between a popular TV series or blockbuster film and doing Shakespeare. They're different, but as long as the material is good and the intention is honourable, it's all the same to me.
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I don't think anything I've written has been done in under six or eight drafts. Usually it takes me a few years to write a book. 'World's Fair' was an exception. It seemed to be a particularly fluent book as it came. I did it in seven months. I think what happened in that case is that God gave me a bonus book.
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The power of both myth and art is this magical ability to open doors, to make connections - not only between us and the natural world, but between us and the rest of humanity. Myths show us what we have in common with every other human being, no matter what culture we come from, no matter what century we live in. . .and at the same time, mythic stories and art celebrate our essential differences.
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A lot of young Latino actors have said to me, 'Why can't we get an Oscar? Why can't we be nominated?' And the terrible truth is that if you don't get the right parts, you're not going to be. Are you going to get an Oscar nomination for one of those Judd Apatow movies? Not likely, no matter what nationality you are.
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By words one transmits thoughts to another, by means of art, one transmits feelings.
Leo TolstoyRead