Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled writer.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the experience of being an outsider and the unique perspective it offers to a writer.
Guillermo Cabrera Infante's quote illustrates the struggle of a writer who is physically separated from their homeland, suggesting that this exile profoundly shapes their identity and creative expression. It implies that distance from one's cultural roots can lead to an enriched, albeit painful, experience of artistry, where the writer must navigate their identity through the lens of longing and separation.
In practice
In a literary event discussing the impact of exile on creativity.
He that compares what he has done with what he has left undone, will feel the effect which must always follow the comparison of imagination with reality; he will look with contempt on his own unimportance, and wonder to what purpose he came into the world; he will repine that he shall leave behind him no evidence of his having been, that he has added nothing to the system of life, but has glided from youth to age among the crowd, without any effort for distinction.
You'll see certain Pythagorean whose belief in communism of property goes to such lengths that they pick up anything lying about unguarded, and make off with it without a qualm of conscience as if it had come to them by law.
The world is eaten up by boredom. You can't see it all at once. It is like dust. You go about and never notice, you breathe it in, you eat and drink it. It is sifted so fine, it doesn't even grit on your teeth. But stand still for an instant and there it is, coating your face and hands.
Our emotions Are only “incidents” In the effort to keep day and night together.
It was astonishing to see how angry Cersei could wax over accusations she knew perfectly well to be true.
The evasions of her little novel were exactly those of her life. Everything she did not wish to confront was also missing from her novella--and was necessary to it.
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