Yes, I hate orthodox criticism. I don't mean great criticism, like that of Matthew Arnold and others, but the usual small niggling, fussy-mussy criticism, which thinks it can improve people by telling them where they are wrong, and results only in putting them in straitjackets of hesitancy and self-consciousness, and weazening all vision and bravery.. I hate it because of all the potentially shining, gentle, gifted people of all ages, that it snuffs out every year. It is a murderer of talent. And because the most modest and sensitive people are the most talented, having the most imagination and sympathy, these are the very first ones to get killed off. It is the brutal egotists that survive. Brenda Ueland
About This Quote

This quote is an interesting one because it not only expresses the author’s feelings about criticism but his feelings about talent as well. He believes that people with the most talent are the most sensitive and they are also the first ones to suffer from criticism. He believes that it is egotists that survive and that often they are not even talented. He believes that if people are talented, they will be able to overcome their fears and find a voice for themselves within their own work. This quote shows how strong an opinion the author has of himself and also of others.

Source: If You Want To Write: A Book About Art, Independence And Spirit

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