The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone.

Quote by James Baldwin

Topics: James Baldwin Quotes

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot...

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot...

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by...

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by...

If you're treated a certain way you become a certain kind of person. If certain...

If you're treated a certain way you become a certain kind of person. If certain...

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced...

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced...

It is a great shock at the age of five or six to find that...

It is a great shock at the age of five or six to find that...

It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective...

It is only in his music, which Americans are able to admire because a protective...

The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that...

The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that...

I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.

I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in...

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it...

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person...

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person...

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love...

Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love...

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other...

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other...

The paradox of education is precisely this; that as one begins to become conscious one...

The paradox of education is precisely this; that as one begins to become conscious one...

It is a very rare man who does not victimize the helpless.

It is a very rare man who does not victimize the helpless.

We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our...

We have all had the experience of finding that our reactions and perhaps even our...

The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important...

The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important...

Europe has what we do not have yet, a sense of the mysterious and inexorable...

Europe has what we do not have yet, a sense of the mysterious and inexorable...

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power...

But the relationship of morality and power is a very subtle one. Because ultimately power...