“When I write I am attempting to do justice to something I have glimpsed about the world.”
Griffin Prize Questionnaire June 2012
Griffin Poetry Prize Questionnaire
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Jan Zwicky9
Canadian philosopher 1955Related quotes
“Writing brings about a catharsis of my own terror and pity. It is something I have to do.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) American musician and record producer
Life in the Industry: A Musician's Diary
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) British naturalist, author of "On the origin of species, by means of natural selection"
volume I, chapter II: "Autobiography", page 27 http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=45&itemID=F1452.1&viewtype=image <br class="br">The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (1887)
“Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.”
Gloria Steinem (1934) American feminist and journalist
Uwem Akpan (1971) Nigerian Jesuit priest and writer
On the secondary nature of historical research in his writing process in “UWEM AKPAN | INTERVIEW” https://granta.com/interview-uwem-akpan/ in Granta (2008 Nov 14)
Celeste Ng (1980) American novelist
On why she revisits certain themes in “AN INTERVIEW WITH CELESTE NG, THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY AMBASSADOR” https://bookriot.com/2018/04/27/celeste-ng-interview/ in BookRiot (2018 Apr 27)
Patrick Califia-Rice (1954) American writer
Variant: Why do I write? I write because I have to, because it is all I know, because it is my truth, because I am compelled, because I am driven to make the world acknowledge that women like me exist, and we possess a dangerous wisdom.
“I said "Somebody should do something about that." Then I realized I am somebody.”
Lily Tomlin (1939) American actress, comedian, writer, and producer
Jamaica Kincaid (1949) Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer
On her obsession with writing in “Jamaica Kincaid: Does Truth Have a Tone?” https://www.guernicamag.com/does-truth-have-a-tone/ in Guernica (2013 Jun 17)
William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879) American journalist
"To the Public", No. 1 (1 January 1831) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2928t.html <br class="br">The Liberator (1831 - 1866) <br class="br">Context: I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; — but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.