Quotes About Inspiration

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.

Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.

If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.

Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.

The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.

Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people. When the creative impulse cannot flourish, when it cannot freely select its methods and objects, when it is deprived of spontaneity, then society severs the root of art.

Great crisis produce great men and great deeds of courage.

When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.

We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.

When power narrows the areas of a man's concerns, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence

I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty

The stories of past courage can define that ingredient- they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot provide courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage. . . Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.

We need men who can dream of things that never were.

One man can make a difference and everyone should try

Music is what I do, Christ is why I do it

There are many reasons why novelists write but they all have one thing in common a need to create an alternative world.

It's rather like your voice. You put up with your voice and speak with it because you haven't any choice. But it's what you say that counts. It's what distinguishes all great art from the other kind.

Poetry had always seemed something I could turn to in need - an emergency exit, a lifebuoy, as well as a justification.

I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any given point, not some itinerary decided before entry.