25 Madeleine L’Engle Quotes About Creativity
Published May 6, 2023
Get inspired to explore your own creative passions with these Madeleine L’Engle quotes!
Madeleine L’Engle was an American author praised for her unique and imaginative storytelling, particularly in children’s literature.
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What are the benefits of reading Madeleine L’Engle quotes?
Madeleine L’Engle was widely known for her depth of creativity and ability to engage readers with vivid and complex storytelling.
However, she endured many rejections and setbacks in her writing career before achieving success.
L’Engle wrote for years before publishing her first book, “The Small Rain,” in 1945, after which she continued to face criticism for her writing.
Despite her challenges, Madeleine continued to write and eventually published books that have become beloved classics.
Some of her best-known works include:
- “Many Waters”
- “A Wind in the Door”
- “A Swiftly Tilting Planet”
- “The Arm of the Starfish”
- “The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth”
Reading Madeleine L’Engle quotes will inspire you to follow your own creative passions and never stop reaching for your dreams.
Born in New York in 1918, Madeleine was the only child of a writer and pianist, so she was raised in a household that valued creativity and curiosity.
Unfortunately, chronic health issues like asthma and vision problems often kept her indoors.
Madeleine took solace in books to deal with her feelings of loneliness and isolation.
She felt joy when writing and storytelling and began writing short stories at an early age.
Later in life, she attended Smith College, where she continued to develop her writing skills and studied literature and theology.
Madeleine L’Engle’s writing is known for its unique blend of science fiction, fantasy, and spirituality, a combination that has captivated readers for decades.
Her creatively rich world translates profoundly into her writing, and her words continue to inspire people of all ages to follow the creative pull in their own lives.
Please enjoy these Madeleine L’Engle quotes!
Madeleine L’Engle quotes about writing
Here are some of the best quotes from the author.
1. “I write about what concerns me, and I want to share my concerns. I want what I write to be read.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
2. “A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
3. “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
4. “If a writer says she doesn’t care whether she is published or not, I don’t believe her. I care. Undoubtedly I care too much. But we do not write for ourselves alone.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
5. “Ultimately, you have to sit down and start to write. And even if all you do is type out “I can’t write this morning; I can’t write this morning; oh, bother, I can’t write this morning,” that will sometimes prime the pump and get it started.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Best Madeleine L’Engle quotes
Enjoy more popular quotes from Madeleine L’Engle.
6. “It is the ability to choose which makes us human.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
7. “Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
8. “We can’t take any credit for our talents. It’s how we use them that counts.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
9. “The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
10. “That’s the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Madeleine L’Engle quotes about life
These quotes show the author’s thoughts on life.
11. “We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
12. “Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
13. “Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
14. “Because we fail to listen to each other’s stories, we are becoming a fragmented human race.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
15. “Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Madeleine L’Engle quotes about God
Learn more about the writers perspective and belief in God.
16. “We have to be braver than we think we can be because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
17. “It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
18. “To pray is to listen, to move through my own chattering to God, to that place where I can be silent and listen to what God may have to say.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
19. “I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
20. “Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Inspirational Madeleine L’Engle quotes
Be inspired by these quotes from the author.
21. “Nothing, no one, is too small to matter. What you do is going to make a difference.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
22. “If we are not willing to fail, we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
23. “When we believe in the impossible, it becomes possible, and we can do all kinds of extraordinary things.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
24. “If you’re going to care about the fall of the sparrow, you can’t pick and choose who’s going to be the sparrow. It’s everybody.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
25. “I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.” ― Madeleine L’Engle
Madeleine L’Engle’s most famous book
“A Wrinkle in Time” was published in 1962 and quickly became L’Engle’s most famous work of all time.
It won the Newbery Medal in 1963, which is the award given by the American Library Association for the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature.
The book was adapted for film screens several times, but the most recent and likely most well-known adaptation was released in 2018.
“A Wrinkle in Time” was directed by Ava DuVernay and starred Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling as the central characters.
The story follows a young girl named Meg Murry and her journey through time and space to rescue her father.
Praised for its imaginative storytelling and complex characters, the book explores themes of love, family, and the struggle between good and evil.
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