The writers job is to get naked, To hide nothing. To look away from nothing. To look at it. To not blink. To be not embarrassed or shamed of it. Strip it down and lets get down to where the blood is, the bone is. Instead of hiding it with clothes and all kinds of other stuff, luxury!
Interpretation
A writer's duty is to portray the raw and unfiltered truth without shame or embellishment.
This quote emphasizes the importance of honesty and vulnerability in writing. Harry Crews suggests that a true writer must strip away superficial layers, facing the raw essence of their subject matter and exposing the truths that lie beneath the surface, free from societal expectations or shame. This process involves a deep, unwavering gaze into reality, which crafts authentic and powerful narratives.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of honesty in storytelling at a literary festival.
A spider lives inside my head Who weaves a strange and wondrous web Of silken threads and silver strings To catch all sorts of flying things, Like crumbs of thoughts and bits of smiles And specks of dried-up tears, And dust of dreams that catch and cling For years and years and years...
I believe that good television should be challenging and frustrating and maddening and thrilling. If you just want to see people who look like you and think like you and do what you would do in any given situation, you'd have to stop looking at TV and start looking in a mirror. But would that be as much fun?
When asked, 'How do you write?' I invariably answer, 'one word at a time.'
Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever.
Marijuana is a useful catalyst for specific optical and aural aesthetic perceptions. I apprehended the structure of certain pieces of jazz and classical music in a new manner under the influence of marijuana, and these apprehensions have remained valid in years of normal consciousness.
If I go three days without vocalizing, the voice is gone.
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