Why do you paint? For exactly the same reason I breathe. That's not an answer. There isn't any answer. How long hasn't there been any answer? As long as I can remember. And how long have you written? As long as I can remember. I mean poetry. So do I.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Cummings compares painting, breathing, and writing as instinctive acts without conscious answers.
- In plain terms
- Art is as natural as breathing.
- What can you take from it?
- Create instinctively.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do you create?
- Is art a choice?
Another view
Instinct alone does not explain artistic choices.
More from E. E. Cummings
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