--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe that prizes are useful things…" description: "\"I believe that prizes are useful things for the disciplines, whether we are talking about chemistry or we're talking... It motivates, it, you know, ins..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/wole-soyinka-1587_art_i-believe-that-prizes-are-useful-things_693108.jpg" --- # I believe that prizes are useful things for the… ![“I believe that prizes are useful things for the disciplines, whether we are talking about chemistry or we're talking... It motivates, it, you know, inspires, it encourages and it brings, in the case of literature, it brings literature, the arts out of the ghetto.” quote by Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/wole-soyinka-1587_art_i-believe-that-prizes-are-useful-things_693108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/wole-soyinka-1587_art_i-believe-that-prizes-are-useful-things_693108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bf/wole-soyinka-1587_art_i-believe-that-prizes-are-useful-things_693108.jpg) > “I believe that prizes are useful things for the disciplines, whether we are talking about chemistry or we're talking... It motivates, it, you know, inspires, it encourages and it brings, in the case of literature, it brings literature, the arts out of the ghetto.” [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awards act as incentives that recognize excellence, inspire creators, and elevate fields into broader public awareness. **In simple terms:** Awards motivate and uplift disciplines. Key Takeaway Use awards to inspire and legitimize work. Themes recognition motivation culture creativity visibility Mood proud optimistic reflective Type inspirational analytical When to use this quote - academic conferences - literary festivals - art exhibitions - grant applications Key Concepts incentive theory social capital cultural elevation Questions to Reflect On - How do awards shape the direction of a field? - What are the risks of over‑emphasizing accolades? A Different Perspective Awards may create competition and overlook unrecognized talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-prizes-5502466/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brings Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brings-literature-5502467/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Chemistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemistry/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Ghetto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghetto/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Inspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Brings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-brings-816302/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes/) [Prizes Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes-useful-5502465/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Useful things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-things/) ## Related quotes > [I can't say I believe in prizes. I was a whiz in the three-legged race - that's something you CAN win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-can-t-say-i-believe-in-prizes-i-was-a-whiz-in-the-three-legged-race/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Prizes are like butterflies, colorful butterflies that fly away. I don't believe in prizes much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lina-wertmuller/prizes-are-like-butterflies-colorful-butterflies-that-fly-away-i-don/) [Lina Wertmuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lina-wertmuller/) > [What literature brings to our times is always the fact that literature refuses to bring any simple or easy answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/what-literature-brings-to-our-times-is-always-the-fact-that/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [“History gives us the facts, sort of, but from literary works we can learn what the past smelled like, sounded like, and felt like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-herring/history-gives-us-the-facts-sort-of-but-from-literary-works-we-can/) [Scott Herring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-herring/) > [In the world of literature, I see prizes as more of a duty to the craft itself, rather than as something for the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/in-the-world-of-literature-i-see-prizes-as-more-of-a-duty-to-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One of the first obligations of art is to make all useful things beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/one-of-the-first-obligations-of-art-is-to-make-all-useful-things/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, "It is a very useful thing to save a man from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/diogenes-said-once-to-a-person-who-was-showing-him-a-dial-it-is-a/) [Diogenes Laertius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [“The role of useless ideas is to help us see the useful ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/the-role-of-useless-ideas-is-to-help-us-see-the-useful-ones/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [Sadness is one of the best universities in life! Though bad things take good things from us, they do give us useful things as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/sadness-is-one-of-the-best-universities-in-life-though-bad-things/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Bart! With $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-simpson/bart-with-10-000-we-d-be-millionaires-we-could-buy-all-kinds-of/) [Homer Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-simpson/) > [To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that is enough for one man's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-do-the-useful-thing-to-say-the-courageous-thing-to-contemplate-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How did you find me anyway." "For all that I must keep reminding you that I am not a bloodhound, it's true that on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-did-you-find-me-anyway-for-all-that-i-must-keep-reminding-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The steadily inward look leads us all to death, nations as well as persons, and is equally infantile in them all. Perhaps the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/the-steadily-inward-look-leads-us-all-to-death-nations-as-well-as/) [Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/) > [Politics has rough manners, but it is a very useful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/politics-has-rough-manners-but-it-is-a-very-useful-thing/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Wole Soyinka > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [When I tried to create a new political party, which I stressed that this is not my party. I believe very much that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/when-i-tried-to-create-a-new-political-party-which-i-stressed-that/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/each-time-i-think-i-ve-created-time-for-myself-along-comes-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I began writing early - very, very early... I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-began-writing-early-very-very-early-i-was-already-writing-short/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading the writers of poems, seeing a painting, listening to some music, some opera, which has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/my-horizon-on-humanity-is-enlarged-by-reading-the-writers-of-poems/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remains is a fiefdom, a planet of slaves regimented by aliens from outer-space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/under-a-dictatorship-a-nation-ceases-to-exist-all-that-remains-is-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The phenomenon of creativity, we know, is closely related to the ability to yoke together separate, and even seemingly incompatible, matrices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-phenomenon-of-creativity-we-know-is-closely-related-to-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One, a mass movement from within, which, as you know, is constantly being put down brutally but which, again, regroups and moves forward as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-a-mass-movement-from-within-which-as-you-know-is-constantly-being/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One has to confront history honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-has-to-confront-history-honestly/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [We wasted a lot of creative energy in that immediate post colonial era, when there was a struggle between, you know, the Cold War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/we-wasted-a-lot-of-creative-energy-in-that-immediate-post-colonial/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-have-a-kind-of-magnetic-attraction-to-situations-of-violence/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The Egba kingdom was one of the very last to be ceded to the British protectorate. It remained almost an independent entity within what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-egba-kingdom-was-one-of-the-very-last-to-be-ceded-to-the-british/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I was born into a Christian household, in a parsonage in fact, so I grew up in sort of a missionary atmosphere but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-was-born-into-a-christian-household-in-a-parsonage-in-fact-so-i/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-problem-with-literature-with-writing-is-that-it-works-sometimes/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) [Explore all 225 Wole Soyinka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## 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 believe that prizes are useful things for the disciplines, whether we are talking about chemistry or we're talking... 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