John Gardner quote — “This highest kind of truth is never something the artist takes as give…”

Quote

This highest kind of truth is never something the artist takes as given. It's not his point of departure but his goal. Though the artist has beliefs, like other people, he realizes that a salient characteristic of art is its radical openness to persuasion. Even those beliefs he's surest of, the artist puts under pressure to see if they will stand.

John Gardner The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Y… art truth

Elizabeth Hopkinson belief truth

I don’t think this kind of thing [satire] has an impact on the unconverted, frankly. It’s not even preaching to the converted; it’s titillating the converted. I think the people wh…

Tom Lehrer influence satire

The kind of funny irony is that a lot of people talk about ethical meat eating as if it's a way to care about things, but also not to alienate yourself from the rest of the world. …

Jonathan Safran Foer