Quotessence
Home / Authors / Amanda Palmer Books
Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer Books

Singer

Related Quotes

“To erase the possibility of empathy is to erase the possibility of understanding. To erase the possibility of empathy is also to erase the possibility of art. Theater, fiction, horror stories, love stories. This is what art does. Good or bad, it imagines the insides, the heart of the other, whether that heart is full of light or trapped in darkness.”

InspirationalArtEmpathy
Book:The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Create image

“Sometimes it was like Neil was from an alien planet, where people never asked for or shared anything emotional without deeply apologizing first. He assured me that he was simply British. And that we Americans, with all of our loud oversharing and need for random hugs and free admissions to people we've just met of deep, traumatic childhood wounds looks just as alien to them.”

BritishAmericanRandomHugsNeil GaimanOversharing
Book:The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Create image

“That night changed my life: I was finally experiencing, in person, the songs that had been the soundtrack of my life for the past few years, the lyric-images I'd memorized after hours of headphone-listening on walks to school, the words that had been direct-deposited into my heart though the channel of my ears---I was hearing them here, now, in a moment that would never exist again.”

Live Music
Book:The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help
Create image

“American culture in particular has instilled in us the bizarre notion that to ask for help amounts to an admission of failure. But some of the most powerful, successful, admired people in the world seem, to me, to have something in common: they ask constantly, creatively, compassionately, and gracefully. And to be sure: when you ask, there's always the possibility of a no on the other side of the request. If we don't allow for that no, we're not actually asking, we're either begging or demanding. But it is the fear of the no that keeps so many of our mouths sewn tightly shut.”

PeopleIfsWorldHelpingSeemsCultureAsksSidesPowerfulCommonSuccessfulPossibilityParticularAmountMouthsAskingNotionMost PowerfulBizarreAmerican CultureRequestBeggingAdmission
Author:Amanda Palmer
Create image

“I never wanted to grow a thicker skin; I felt a real sense of pride in my thin skin, and in a weird way, I still do, because it's my thin skin that allows me to empathize with other people. It's the thing that allows me to create vulnerable art. It's the thing that allows me to create other feelings and make songs that actually grab people and touch people. I feel like I've spent my life fighting that thicker skin because I don't want to become an embittered asshole.”

PeopleWayWantFeelsArtStillsRealFeelingsWantedSongFightingGrowsFeltPrideSkinsVulnerable
Author:Amanda Palmer
Create image

“I think the Internet really sussed things into perspective. Because twelve years ago, I could spend my days on writing and running my band and touring and making posters and practicing with my band and working on my vocals, but I didn't spend a large pie chart of my time sifting through criticism as well, and nowadays I do, and all female artists do, because to be able to promote your work, you need to live in those spaces.”

ThinkingNeedsWritingYearsWellsRunningAbleArtistSpacePerspectiveInternetBandFemaleYears AgoCriticismMy TimeTwelvePieVocalTouringPostersSiftingFemale Artists
Author:Amanda Palmer
Create image

“When you really look back and take the wider perspective, it makes total sense that if the status quo is to remain the way it is, women will not be lauded and applauded for bonding with and helping each other, because it would destroy the world order if women organized; it would topple the whole thing. And so, it makes perfect sense to me that the current order of things would encourage the cat fights and encourage the comparisons and encourage the girl-on-girl hate that you see just being promoted everywhere.”

IfsWorldWayLooksWholeHelpingHateOrderGirlFightingPerfectPerspectiveCatCurrentsOrganizedComparisonJust BeingStatus QuoWorld OrderBondingHelping Each Other
Author:Amanda Palmer
Create image