--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not say that artists cannot be…" description: "\"“I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak through them. Who would be an artist if th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg" --- # I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that… ![“I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak through them. Who would be an artist if they did not believe that that happens? if they did not know it happens, because they have felt the god within them use their tongue, their hands?…” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg) > ““I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak through them. Who would be an artist if they did not believe that that happens? if they did not know it happens, because they have felt the god within them use their tongue, their hands? Maybe only once, once in their lives. But once is enough.”” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must believe in a divine inspiration that guides their work, even if only once in a lifetime. **In simple terms:** Artists need belief in a higher inspiration. Key Takeaway Cultivate openness to creative inspiration. Themes creativity spirituality artist’s purpose Mood mystical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative retreats - spiritual practices - artistic mentorship Key Concepts mythology psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel a guiding force in your art? - How can you nurture that feeling? A Different Perspective Inspiration may not be constant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [Obviously, the duty of artists is there, but it's more an indictment of the political system that someone like Zinn views artists as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/obviously-the-duty-of-artists-is-there-but-it-s-more-an-indictment-of/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [I'll just let my work speak for itself, as every artist should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-braun/i-ll-just-let-my-work-speak-for-itself-as-every-artist-should/) [Ryan Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-braun/) > [“It feels better to speak in metaphor, easier. It’s saying the truth without actually saying the truth. You could only speak to an artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/it-feels-better-to-speak-in-metaphor-easier-it-s-saying-the-truth/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [If I am not mistaken, the word "art" and "artist" did not exist during the Renaissance and before: there were simply architects, sculptors, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/if-i-am-not-mistaken-the-word-art-and-artist-did-not-exist-during-the/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [The first artist that did it for me with just production was James Blake... I was just blown away... I feel like James Blake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstin-maldonado/the-first-artist-that-did-it-for-me-with-just-production-was-james/) [Kirstin Maldonado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirstin-maldonado/) > [I was an arts student. I did graphic design. Being an artist, I did a lot of paintings. I have always had that creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/i-was-an-arts-student-i-did-graphic-design-being-an-artist-i-did-a/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [It's hard for me to judge my own films as an artist sometimes. But as an artist, I did feel a fulfillment working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/it-s-hard-for-me-to-judge-my-own-films-as-an-artist-sometimes-but-as/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I never knew I was an artist until I did 'Last of the Mohicans'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/i-never-knew-i-was-an-artist-until-i-did-last-of-the-mohicans/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [Zhang Yimou is an artist. Sometimes we did only two or three shots a day because we were waiting for the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jet-li/zhang-yimou-is-an-artist-sometimes-we-did-only-two-or-three-shots-a/) [Jet Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jet-li/) > [Corporately contrived art product replaces inspired intellectual property with ineffectual poperty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/corporately-contrived-art-product-replaces-inspired-intellectual/) [Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/) > [Music is supposed to be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/music-is-supposed-to-be-inspired/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [My first name was inspired by the character of Aslan, the lion in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aselin-debison/my-first-name-was-inspired-by-the-character-of-aslan-the-lion-in-c-s/) Aselin Debison > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## 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 > [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 do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak through them. Who would be an artist if they did not believe that that happens? if they did not know it happens, because they have felt the god within them use their tongue, their hands? Maybe only once, once in their lives. But once is enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seers-inspired-that-the-awen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seers-inspired-that-the-awen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/ursula-k-le-guin-138_art_i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seer_2775598.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not say that artists cannot be seers, inspired: that the awen cannot come upon them, and the god speak…” — Ursula K. Le Guin", "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": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I do not say that artists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seers-inspired-that-the-awen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-do-not-say-that-artists-cannot-be-seers-inspired-that-the-awen/#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 } } ] } ```