Could anything be more inimical to art than a fear of emotion, or a fear of "excessive" emotion, or a reluctance to express emotion around others? No, of course not. Art can even best the weights of utter fucking ignorance and totalitarian repression, but it cannot survive emotional constipation.
I want a T-shirt that says, "Art is Emo." We live in an age where people are more apt to believe a thing if they read it on a T-shirt." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
"Would you like to see a little of it?" said the Mock Turtle. (3 April 2010)
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Could anything be more inimical to art than a fear of emotion, or a fear of "excessive" emotion, or a reluctance to express emotion around others? No, of course not. Art can even best the weights of utter fucking ignorance and totalitarian repression, but it cannot survive emotional constipation.
I want a T-shirt that says, "Art is Emo." We live in an age where people are more apt to believe a thing if they read it on a T-shirt.

— Caitlín R. Kiernan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Could anything be more inimical to art than a fear of emotion, or a fear of "excessive" emotion, or a reluctance to express emotion around others? No, of course not. Art can even best the weights of utter fucking ignorance and totalitarian repression, but it cannot survive emotional constipation.
I want a T-shirt that says, "Art is Emo." We live in an age where people are more apt to believe a thing if they read it on a T-shirt." in the context of ""Would you like to see a little of it?" said the Mock Turtle. (3 April 2010)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Caitlín R. Kiernan" (Quotes, Unfit for Mass Consumption (blog entries): Unfit for Mass Consumption : The Online Journal of a Construct Sometimes Known as Caitlín R. Kiernan (Caitlín R. Kiernan's LiveJournal), as well as previous blog incarnations including: "Species of One: Confessions of a Lady Writer and Alien Malcontent, 2010) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Caitlín R. Kiernan#emotion#art#tshirt#fear#totalitarian#constipation#reluctance#repression#excessive#ignorance#emotional
Caitlín R. Kiernan

About Caitlín R. Kiernan

Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born 26 May 1964) is an Irish-born American author, paleontologist, and prolific blogger perhaps most famous for the novels The Drowning Girl: A Memoir and The Red Tree. Kiernan is a two-time recipient of both the World Fantasy and Bram Stoker awards.