--- 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 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.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/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.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. When my father died, on the plane from his funeral in the UK back to New York, still in shock, I got out my notebook and wrote a script. It was a good place to go, the place that script was, and I went there so deeply and so far that when we landed Maddy had to tap me on the arm to remind me that I had to get off the plane now. (She says I looked up at her, puzzled, and said "But I want to find out what happens next.") It was where I went and what I did to cope, and I was amazed, some weeks later when I pulled out that notebook to start typing, to find that I'd written pretty much the entire script in that six hour journey.”” [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. Art can transform raw pain into something refined, using time and distance to turn trauma into a crafted, meaningful work. **In simple terms:** Pain can become art through reflection and shaping. Key Takeaway Use creative work to process grief. Themes grief creativity healing escape craftsmanship Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - writing after loss - journaling during travel - scriptwriting as coping - creative retreats Key Concepts transformation layering metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance honesty with distance in artistic expression? - What techniques help you let time layer raw emotions? A Different Perspective If the pain is too fresh, art may become self‑indulgent rather than insightful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bad thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thing/) [Father died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-died/) [Good place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-place/) [Immediate Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immediate-tragedy-1362732/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Script Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script-good/) [Script Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script-went-3203336/) [Think Immediate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-immediate-464482/) [Time Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-pass/) [Tragedy Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-good-1362731/) [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-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If every element of the song doesn't come within the first hour of writing, then you're never going to get it - if that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-condon/if-every-element-of-the-song-doesn-t-come-within-the-first-hour-of/) [Zach Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-condon/) > [I think the immediate thing is we stand up to protect those people who are in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-think-the-immediate-thing-is-we-stand-up-to-protect-those-people/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I've been spoiled by this project. 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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/) > [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. 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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? 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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. When my father died, on the plane from his funeral in the UK back to New York, still in shock, I got out my notebook and wrote a script. It was a good place to go, the place that script was, and I went there so deeply and so far that when we landed Maddy had to tap me on the arm to remind me that I had to get off the plane now. (She says I looked up at her, puzzled, and said \"But I want to find out what happens next.\") It was where I went and what I did to cope, and I was amazed, some weeks later when I pulled out that notebook to start typing, to find that I'd written pretty much the entire script in that six hour journey.”", "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/", "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/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/993/neil-gaiman-29_art_i-don-t-think-immediate-tragedy-is-a-ver_345782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think immediate tragedy is a very good source of art. 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