Society cannot continue to disable themselves through their need to categorize people or make assumptions as to another individual's abilities.
Evelyn GlennieRead
I just assumed the world was full of solo percussionists. I couldn't find sticks or music or anything where I was, but that was expected because there was nothing there anyway. And I think that was possibly the greatest asset for me, just not knowing.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea that creativity can thrive in the absence of expectations or resources.
Evelyn Glennie expresses how her lack of knowledge and resources allowed her to explore music and creativity without the constraints often imposed by formal education or preconceived notions. Her experience highlights the power of imagination and the ability to create meaning and beauty from scarcity, suggesting that sometimes ignorance can lead to greater innovation and artistic expression.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of creativity in education.
Society cannot continue to disable themselves through their need to categorize people or make assumptions as to another individual's abilities.
If we see someone in a wheelchair, we assume they cannot walk. It may be that they can walk three, four, five steps. That, to them, means they can walk.
Let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet.
I've always had great respect for Paddington because he is amusingly English and eccentric. He is a great British institution and my generation grew up with the books and then Michael Horden's animations.
We wait for the tortoises to come. We wait for that lady who walks them. That’s how art works. It’s never a jackrabbit, or a racehorse. It’s the tortoises that hold all the secrets. We’ve got to be patient enough to wait for them.
It wasn't about mechanics; it was about a feeling, wanting to give someone something, which in turn was really gratifying. That really resonated for me.
If it adapts itself to what the majority of our society wants, art will be a meaningless recreation.
I strongly believe that the art of the novel works best when the writer identifies with whoever he or she is writing about. Novels in the end are based on the human capacity, compassion, and I can show more compassion to my characters if I write in a first person singular.
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