--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think immediate tragedy is a very…" description: "\"I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with. Sometimes art can be a r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg" --- # I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of… ![“I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with. Sometimes art can be a really good escape from the intolerable, and a good place to go when things are bad, but that doesn't mean you have to write directly about the bad…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg) > “I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with. Sometimes art can be a really good escape from the intolerable, and a good place to go when things are bad, but that doesn't mean you have to write directly about the bad thing; sometimes you need to let time pass, and allow the thing that hurts to get covered with layers, and then you take it out, like a pearl, and you make art out of it.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that art need not directly depict tragedy; time and layers can transform pain into something beautiful. **In simple terms:** Art can heal without showing raw trauma. Key Takeaway Use distance and metaphor to process difficult experiences. Themes healing creativity trauma processing Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - music composition Key Concepts metaphor layering emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance honesty and abstraction? - What layers help you transform pain? A Different Perspective Risk of diluting the truth of suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-really/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bad thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) [Bad things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-things/) [Covered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/covered/) [Dealt Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dealt-art-1362733/) [Good place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-place/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Immediate Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immediate-tragedy-1362732/) [Layers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/layers/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Pearls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pearls/) [Places to go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-to-go/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-pass/) [Time passes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-passes/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-good-1362731/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-very-good-source-of-art-it-can/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The thing is, there is no certainty in this life - in one second your entire world could shift. I'm not saying it will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/the-thing-is-there-is-no-certainty-in-this-life-in-one-second-your/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [Classical tragedy was the war between good and evil. We wanted evil to be defeated and good to be victorious. But the battle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-farhadi/classical-tragedy-was-the-war-between-good-and-evil-we-wanted-evil-to/) [Asghar Farhadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-farhadi/) > [“Here is the truth about tragedy: it's good for the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/here-is-the-truth-about-tragedy-it-s-good-for-the-soul/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Seeing the way that God has been faithful to work what appears to be a tragedy for our good and His glory has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-hammitt/seeing-the-way-that-god-has-been-faithful-to-work-what-appears-to-be/) [Matt Hammitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-hammitt/) > [“Sorel's basic character flaws had all cemented by the age of fifteen, a fact which further elicited my sympathy. To have all the building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/sorel-s-basic-character-flaws-had-all-cemented-by-the-age-of-fifteen/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [When the bad bleeds, then is the tragedy good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-tourneur/when-the-bad-bleeds-then-is-the-tragedy-good/) [Cyril Tourneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-tourneur/) > [Over the years, I've interviewed the victims, the guilty, the famous, the important, and the ordinary people affected by tragedy or good fortune. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-barton/over-the-years-i-ve-interviewed-the-victims-the-guilty-the-famous-the/) [Fiona Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-barton/) > [The magic of comics is that there are three people involved in any comic. There's whoever's writing it and whoever's drawing it. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-magic-of-comics-is-that-there-are-three-people-involved-in-any/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“I have a brother. They say, you put us together, we are like one person, you know? When we are young, his hair, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-have-a-brother-they-say-you-put-us-together-we-are-like-one-person/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Art is really about how you capture different things you see around you and bring them into forms and words and shapes and meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chath-piersath/art-is-really-about-how-you-capture-different-things-you-see-around/) [Chath Piersath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chath-piersath/) > [“Art really does instruct us in how to think, feel, and behave. To be an artist is to have great power. To be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/art-really-does-instruct-us-in-how-to-think-feel-and-behave-to-be-an/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [If you do it properly, life is art, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/if-you-do-it-properly-life-is-art-really/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I have a lot of ideas for art. And it is really - I don't really have time to do them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-have-a-lot-of-ideas-for-art-and-it-is-really-i-don-t-really-have/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [What I love about new technology is that it really pushes the art. It really pushes it in a way that you can't imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/what-i-love-about-new-technology-is-that-it-really-pushes-the-art-it/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful and un-dealt-with. Sometimes art can be a really good escape from the intolerable, and a good place to go when things are bad, but that doesn't mean you have to write directly about the bad thing; sometimes you need to let time pass, and allow the thing that hurts to get covered with layers, and then you take it out, like a pearl, and you make art out of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-very-good-source-of-art-it-can-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-very-good-source-of-art-it-can-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d8/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_1723544.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. It can be, but too often it's raw and painful…” — Neil Gaiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think immediate tragedy is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-very-good-source-of-art-it-can-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-very-good-source-of-art-it-can-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```