Andre Dubus III Quotes

don’t write out of what I know; I write out of what I wonder. I think most artists create art in order to explore, not to give the answers. Poetry and art are not about answers to me; they are about questions.

In addition to giving comfort and joy, art also has the miraculous ability to let us live in other men's skins, to test our perceptions and beliefs against theirs, and perhaps to be changed as a result. It does this by portraying the world creatively, heightening our perception and enriching our understanding of things as they are.

The imagination is an innate gift, but it needs refinement and cultivation; this is what the humanities provide.

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

Science is for those who learn, poetry is for those who know.

Doubt grows with knowledge.

The question of truth is forever in the air, and people look for it with particular fervor in art.

The artist needs to understand the truth that lies at the bottom of an enigma.

Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.

Drawing makes you see things clearer, and clearer and clearer still, until your eyes ache.

Reason clears and plants the wilderness of the imagination to harvest the wheat of art.

Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.

A mathematical proof is beautiful, but when you're finished, it's really only about one thing. A story can be about many things.

Imagination is a poor matter when it has to part company with understanding.

Creativity is as important as literacy and numeracy, and I actually think people understand that creativity is important - they just don't understand what it is.

Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death.

You begin a film more with questions than with direct intentions. It's more of an exploration and discovery.

All art really does is keep you focused on questions of humanity, and it really is about how do we get on with our maker.

Actions are always more complex and nuanced than they seem. We have to be willing to wrestle with paradox in pursuing understanding.

I write to understand as much as to be understood.

It's fun as a creator to make something that allows multiple interpretations.

In mathematics and science we solve our problems as well as create them. But in art and philosophy things are not so simple.

Writing isn't necessarily about what one knows but what one wants to know.

Literature allows us to be open, to listen, and to be curious.

I think when you're being creative, you still attach it to reality somehow.