Who Said It? Women Musicians, Artists, and Writers

Question: “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; / I lift my lids and all is born again.”

Answer: “I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; / I lift my lids and all is born again.” Sylvia Plath was an American writer noted for her lyric poems and the novel The Bell Jar.

Question: "Always be smarter than the people who hire you."

Answer: "Always be smarter than the people who hire you." American singer and actress Lena Horne’s role in the film Stormy Weather (1943) included her rendition of the title song, which became her trademark.

Question: “Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs.”

Answer: “Superstitions are habits rather than beliefs.” Marlene Dietrich was the German American actress who starred in Der blaue Engel (1930; The Blue Angel), one of Germany’s first talking films.

Question: “To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern, that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick to feel, that discernment is but a hand playing with finely ordered variety on the chords of emotion—a soul in which knowledge passes instantaneously into feeling, and feeling flashes back as a new organ of knowledge. One may have that condition by fits only.”

Answer: “To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern, that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick to feel, that discernment is but a hand playing with finely ordered variety on the chords of emotion—a soul in which knowledge passes instantaneously into feeling, and feeling flashes back as a new organ of knowledge. One may have that condition by fits only.” George Eliot, pseudonym of British writer Mary Ann Evans, wrote the novels Middlemarch and Silas Marner.

Question: “Art transcends its limitations only by staying within them.”

Answer: “Art transcends its limitations only by staying within them.” Flannery O’Connor was an American writer known especially for her dark comic fiction set in the Deep South, including the short stories "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," "Good Country People," and "Revelation" and the novel Wise Blood.

Question: "You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it's just complaining."

Answer: "You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it's just complaining." Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell had a number of pop hits in her singing career, including the 1970 hit songs “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock.”

Question: "Wrinkles are hereditary. Parents get them from their children."

Answer: "Wrinkles are hereditary. Parents get them from their children." Doris Day was an American singer and actress known for her starring roles in 1950s movie musicals.

Question: “Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary, & ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once.”

Answer: “Methinks the human method of expression by sound of tongue is very elementary, & ought to be substituted for some ingenious invention which should be able to give vent to at least six coherent sentences at once.” Virginia Woolf was an English author best known for her novels, including To the Lighthouse and Orlando.

Question: "The downside of videos is that it will put my vision in front of other people, so they might not get the chance to create their own."

Answer: "The downside of videos is that it will put my vision in front of other people, so they might not get the chance to create their own." Carole King, an American songwriter and singer, is known especially for her album Tapestry (1971), which held the number one spot on the Billboard album chart for 15 straight weeks.

Question: "No one can figure out your worth but you."

Answer: "No one can figure out your worth but you." American entertainer Pearl Bailey’s most memorable stage role was as matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi in the 1967–69 Broadway production of the musical Hello, Dolly!

Question: "As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise."

Answer: "As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you might otherwise." On January 7, 1955, Marian Anderson became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera, in New York City.

Question: "When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don't even notice.”

Answer: "When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don't even notice." American jazz singer and pianist Sarah Vaughn is best known for songs like “It’s Magic” and “Make Yourself Comfortable.”

Question: "In the long run, you make your own luck—good, bad, or indifferent."

Answer: "In the long run, you make your own luck—good, bad, or indifferent." Loretta Lynn is an American singer known as the “Queen of Country.”

Question: "You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live—now."

Answer: "You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live—now." Through the years, American folk singer Joan Baez was deeply committed to social and political matters, lending her voice to many concerts for a variety of causes.

Question: "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

Answer: "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano who won international fame many years before her Metropolitan Opera debut at age 46.

Question: “I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do—that was one of my favorite things about it—and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.”

Answer: “I always thought of photography as a naughty thing to do—that was one of my favorite things about it—and when I first did it, I felt very perverse.” Diane Arbus was an American photographer best known for her compelling, often disturbing, portraits of people on the edges of society.

Question: "You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music."

Answer: "You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. No two people on earth are alike, and it's got to be that way in music or it isn't music." Among the songs identified with American jazz singer Billie Holiday were “Strange Fruit,” “Fine and Mellow,” and “The Man I Love.”

Question: "You're gonna have to learn to get out there in front of those cameras and hold your head up. Take charge when you're singing!"

Answer: "You're gonna have to learn to get out there in front of those cameras and hold your head up. Take charge when you're singing!" American country singer Patsy Cline’s talent and wide-ranging appeal made her one of the classic performers of the genre, bridging the gap between country music and more mainstream audiences.

Question: "When music fails to agree to the ear, to soothe the ear and the heart and the senses, then it has missed its point."

Answer: "When music fails to agree to the ear, to soothe the ear and the heart and the senses, then it has missed its point." American-born Greek operatic soprano Maria Callas’s personality and philosophy of performance are powerfully depicted in Terrence McNally’s play Master Class (first performed and published 1995), based on her teaching at Juilliard.

Question: "It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts."

Answer: "It isn't where you came from, it's where you're going that counts." Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer whose infectious scat singing brought excitement to concert recordings like Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin (1960).