Jane took me to another level because she's truly a wonderful writer. I'd put things together in the past and struggled with them. And then I met Jane. ... I was doing my Edith Ann album in '71 - the album came out in '72. She'd done a thing on television called J.T. - it was about a kid in Harlem - and she won a Peabody for it. I later learned it was the first thing she'd ever written. It was written as an After School Special, but they played it in prime time - and they played it every year after that for about 25 years, or something. Anyway, I saw it and it was wonderful. It was poetic and sensitive and satiric and tender and funny and so many things compressed into this one hour. And I thought, 'Oh, God, this is exactly what I want in a monologue.' So I wrote Jane and asked her to help me do the Edith Ann album. I didn't hear from her for a while. Then, suddenly, about a week before I was supposed to go in and record, she sent me a lot of material. I persuaded her to come to California and help me produce it. Frankly, I was pretty taken with her as soon as I saw her. We just sort of clicked. We became a couple right away.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Meeting a skilled writer helped refine the speaker's own storytelling style.
- In plain terms
- I met a great writer who helped me improve my work.
- What can you take from it?
- Find mentors who elevate your craft.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you find mentors?
- What makes a good collaborator?
Another view
This account is specific to one person's experience.
More from Lily Tomlin
9 to 5 made people aware of equal pay for equal work. It hasn't really happened, but it has come closer. We're aware of sexual harassment, and of course, there…
Permalink to quote #13 I respect her talent and her brain and who she is as a person - and that kind of admiration and respect is a big factor in binding someone in a relationship. I…
Permalink to quote #15 The point I want to make is, the idea that people will say - out of the 170,000 people or however many were killed in the tsunami - they'll say, 'God saved me.…
Permalink to quote #12
Related quotes
Fight the tendency to become complacent and do one kind of music - that is the death of a musician.
Sir Georg SoltiSir Georg Solti quote #3 There's been a tremendous amount of growth. An actress is not expected to continue to play her ingenue roles, you know, I've written myself roles to grow into …
Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell quote #6 Writing is not 'the establishment of a professional reputation' as if one were a doctor or lawyer; it is not properly in the sentence with creation of a family…
Elizabeth HardwickElizabeth Hardwick quote #7