Since these mysteries exceed my grasp, I shall pretend to have organized them.
JEAN COCTEAUThe job of the poet (a job which can’t be learned) consists of placing those objects of the visible world which have become invisible due to the glue of habit, in an unusual position which strikes the soul and gives them a tragic force.
More Jean Cocteau Quotes
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Poetry is a religion without hope. The poet exhausts himself in its service, knowing that, in the long run, a masterpiece is nothing but the performance of a trained dog on very shaky ground.
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I’ve always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality.
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One of the characteristics of the dream is that nothing surprises us in it. With no regret, we agree to live in it with strangers, completely cut off from our habits and friends.
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Tact in audacity is knowing how far you can go without going too far.
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We shelter an angel within us. We must be the guardians of that angel.
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When I write, I disturb. When I show a film, I disturb. When I exhibit my painting, I disturb, and I disturb if I don’t. I have a knack for disturbing.
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I have not looked at a newspaper in twenty years; if one is brought into the room, I flee. This is not because I am indifferent but because one cannot follow every road.
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Anything of any importance cannot help but be unrecognizable, since it bears no resemblance to anything already known.
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An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.
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The only way to kill death is through photography.
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The public is never pleased with what we do, wanting always a copy of what we have done.
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Appreciation of art is a moral erection, otherwise mere dilettantism.
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Style is a simple way of saying complicated things.
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Man seeks to escape himself in myth, and does so by any means at his disposal. Drugs, alcohol, or lies. Unable to withdraw into himself, he disguises himself. Lies and inaccuracy give him a few moments of comfort.
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If a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.
JEAN COCTEAU