Art is not politics. The glory of the novel is that in its essence, it is a democratic form, because it treats individuals as worthy of scrutiny. That alone is a kind of political act. A good novel about a tea party of rich women can be just as galvanizing and important to the soul as War and Peace, so I think it's not really the job of artists to do anything. They can have their opinions as private citizens, but they must continue making their art.
Paul AusterThe only person I knew how to be with now was myself - but I wasnยดt really anyone, and I wasnยดt really alive. I was just someone who pretended to be alive, a dead mean who spent his days translating a dead manยดs book.
Paul AusterEscaping into a film is not like escaping into a book. Books force you to give something back to them, to exercise your intelligence and imagination, where as you can watch a film-and even enjoy it-in a state of mindless passivity.
Paul Auster