Three quotations about SILENCE AND SPACE

Writing poetry since I was a teenager and, more recently, picture book stories, has taught me something about the importance of leaving words out.

You could say that in both poems and picture books you try to get across as much as you can with as few words as possible.

Writers work at filling pages with words. But getting a bit better, over the years, at leaving words out, might be the most important thing I’ve learned about writing, so far!

Here are three quotations which express something about what I’m trying to say:

French storyteller, Abbi Patrix: “The thing I like most about storytelling is its silence.”

Argentine poet, Roberto Juarroz: “Silence is a temple that needs no god.”

From the ancient Chinese text, the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Lao-Tse): “Shape clay into a vessel, but it’s the space within that makes it useful.”

 

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1 comment for Three quotations about SILENCE AND SPACE

  1. Renata Meirelles says:

    Não sei se pode comentar em português, mas…
    Se há algo que furtificou em mim nos últimos tempos foi a descoberta do silêncio.
    Devolvo a beleza dos seus três quotations com uma definição de uma criança:
    “Silêncio é quando alguém está na eternidade”
    (Leydi Stella Arango, 10 anos) do livro “Casa das Estrelas. O universo contado pelas crianças” de Javier Naranjo

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