“It doesn't have a lot of mythic subtext. … For me a lot of the world really is like that.”

—  Elizabeth Hand

Strange Horizons interview (2004)
Context: I don't think all artists are mad, but there is statistical medical evidence that a lot of creative people suffer from various mood disorders. They fall somewhere on the spectrum of being bipolar, of being borderline autistic and so on. These things are there. Now of course these days you can go to college and when you come out you are a professional artist and you can run a gallery as a business and have a career. That is a very valid way for an artist to make a living. But it doesn't make for a very interesting story. It doesn't have a lot of mythic subtext. … For me a lot of the world really is like that. The scenes in my book that people describe as "such a hallucinatory sequence" … I don't see the world like that all the time, but I see the world like that a lot.
So what am I going to do about that? Am I going to go crazy? Am I going to institutionalize myself? Am I going to go and work in a cubicle as a telemarketer so that I don't give vent to that? Or am I going to take that and channel it into my work? It is a gift.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It doesn't have a lot of mythic subtext. … For me a lot of the world really is like that." by Elizabeth Hand?
Elizabeth Hand photo
Elizabeth Hand 33
American writer 1957

Related quotes

Mort Sahl photo

“People tell me there are a lot of guys like me, which doesn't explain why I'm lonely.”

Mort Sahl (1927–2021) American comedian and actor

Relationships

Ming-Na Wen photo

“I really think as long as you have a good story that relates to a lot of people it doesn't matter what ethnicity it is.”

Ming-Na Wen (1963) Macau-born American actress

An Interview with Ming-Na https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/10/27/an-interview-with-ming-na (27 October 2004)

Cornelius Keagon photo

“People see me and think I have lots of girlfriends, do I look like I have lots of girlfriends?”

Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker
Nicolas Chamfort photo

“Having lots of ideas doesn't mean you're clever, any more than having lots of soldiers means you're a good general.”

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer

On n'est point un homme d'esprit pour avoir beaucoup d'idées, comme on n'est pas un bon général pour avoir beaucoup de soldats.
Maximes et Pensées (Van Bever, Paris :1923), #446
Reflections

Owen Wilson photo

“I just like the themes it's exploring. In the way my character says, "I want us to become brothers again, like we used to be." I really like that line, and it means a lot to me. I just find there's a lot of things like that in this movie that have that feeling. There's stuff that feels exhilarating.”

Owen Wilson (1968) American actor and screenwriter

On working on The Darjeeling Limited (2007), in a Artist on Artist interview on MySpace (26 October 2007).

Julia Stiles photo

“I really like Shakespeare a lot. The characters that he writes for females, I think, are really great and a lot more compelling than what modern writers write, which is weird because they didn't have actresses then.”

Julia Stiles (1981) American actress

Daily News, April 12, 1999.

Cassandra Clare photo

“Alec keeps sending me annoying photos. Lots of captions like Wish you were here, except not really.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Fallen Angels

Source: City of Fallen Angels

Rita Hayworth photo

“I've had a lot of unhappiness in my life — and a lot of happiness. Who doesn't?”

Rita Hayworth (1918–1987) American actress, dancer and director

AP reports, (1 November 1963)
Context: I've had a lot of unhappiness in my life — and a lot of happiness. Who doesn't? Maybe I've learned enough to be able to guide my daughters.

Paul Wolfowitz photo

“There's a lot of money to pay for this. It doesn't have to be U. S. taxpayer money. We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.”

Paul Wolfowitz (1943) American politician, diplomat, and technocrat

Congressional Testimony, March 27, 2003.

Lila Downs photo

“The border still doesn't make much sense in my mind. It's a place that has so many things going on, a lot of sad stories, a lot of positive ones, a lot of people who are looking to break the rules and I identify a lot with that. I like to break the rules.”

Lila Downs (1968) Mexican American singer-songwriter

On how the border between the U.S. and Mexico influenced her work in “Mex factor” https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/feb/10/artsfeatures.popandrock in The Guardian (2003 Feb 10)
Heritage and indigenous peoples

Related topics