The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
Writers write because they cannot allow the characters that inhabit them to suffocate them. These characters want to get out, to breathe fresh air and partake of the wine of friendship; were they to remain locked in, they would forcibly break down the walls. It is they who force the writer to tell their stories.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writers are compelled to express their characters and stories, as they feel a deep need to share their creations.
In this quote, Elie Wiesel emphasizes the intrinsic drive of writers to bring their characters and narratives to life. The characters within them represent a powerful creative force that seeks expression, suggesting that the act of writing is not just a choice but a necessity for the writer. If these stories are suppressed, they can cause turmoil, highlighting the importance of storytelling as a means for both personal liberation and artistic fulfillment.
Themes
WritingCharactersStoriesExpressionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of creativity, one could use this quote to highlight the necessity of artistic expression.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
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Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
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We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
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No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
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Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.
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I miss horribly those couple of hours before the performance when you get into the theater and you see people.
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The number of people writing poems is vast, and their reasons for doing so are many, that much can be surmised from the stacks of submissions.
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You are writing for your contemporaries - not for Posterity. If you are lucky, your contemporaries will become Posterity.
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The artist appeals to that part of our being which is not dependent on wisdom; to that in us which is a gift and not an acquisition-and therefore, more permanently enduring. He speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty and pain.
Joseph ConradRead
I'm not such a fan of imagination. If you're alive to details, they oftentimes suggest a richer or deeper imaginative line than you would have imagined.
Edmund WhiteRead