I'll keep working as long as I live because singing has taken on the feeling of joy that I had when I started, when my only responsibility was to sing well.
Rosemary ClooneyRead
I just would like to keep singing. As soon as I'm not singing well, I hope that I know it, so that I can get off the stage and leave what I have done. I hope I'll know, and if I don't, I hope somebody tells me.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a desire for self-awareness in one's craft, emphasizing the importance of knowing when to step back.
Rosemary Clooney reflects on the importance of self-awareness in her musical career, stating that she wishes to continue singing as long as she performs well. If her abilities decline, she hopes to recognize it herself or have someone candidly inform her, underscoring the value of humility and honesty in artistic expression.
In practice
During a music workshop, someone could share this quote to emphasize the importance of feedback.
I'll keep working as long as I live because singing has taken on the feeling of joy that I had when I started, when my only responsibility was to sing well.
This is the very coinage of your brain: this bodiless creation ecstasy.
Writers are in control of editing processes - making a sentence better, cutting out a paragraph. But the initial outpouring has very little to do with conscious control or manipulation.
Good design is clear thinking made visible, bad design is stupidity made visible
When asked how she knows when her writing is where she wants it to be: "I know when it's the best I can do. It may not be the best there is. Another writer may do it much better. But I know when it's the best I can do. I know that one of the great arts that the writer develops is the art of saying, 'No. No, I'm finished. Bye.' And leaving it alone. I will not write it into the ground. I will not write the life out of it. I won't do that."
The best book, like the best speech, will do it all - make us laugh, think, cry and cheer - preferably in that order.
Tell me a story of deep delight.
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