In celebration of the Fourth of July, for my fellow citizens of the U.S. (and also of Canada Day late last week), I thought I’d share a quote from novelist Don DeLillo, best known for his book Underworld, an epic about the Cold War. Since it’s been a bonanza of independence days, this week, I thought I’d find a writing quote that muses on the theme of Freedom. And here’s a good one.
Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.
~ Don DeLillo
This kind of touches on the whole idea that writers write because they have to, because that’s who they are. But I like the take on it that it’s about personal freedom and identity and salvation. In particular, the themes of freedom and salvation are very interesting, to me. Continue reading
The Undiscovered Author 