Margaret Mahy Quotes

Powerful Margaret Mahy for Daily Growth

About Margaret Mahy

Margaret Mahy (1936-2012) was a prolific and beloved New Zealand author whose enchanting children's literature has captivated readers worldwide. Born on March 24, 1936, in Timaru, New Zealand, Mahy spent her early years surrounded by the vivid landscapes of the South Island, which often found their way into her writing. Mahy was the third of four children born to John and Doris Wills. Encouraged by her family's love for reading, she developed a passion for storytelling at a young age. In 1957, she married fellow writer Bruce Mahy, with whom she collaborated on several successful books, including 'The Tricksters,' published in 1968. After earning a teaching diploma from the Christchurch Training College in 1957, Mahy taught for two years before dedicating herself full-time to writing. Her first book, 'The Day of the Roses,' was published in 1960. Over her prolific career spanning more than five decades, she wrote more than 200 books that were translated into over twenty languages. Mahy's work is characterized by its imaginative storytelling, whimsical humor, and engaging characters. Her most celebrated works include the 'The Changeover,' a supernatural tale of love, loss, and transformation published in 1972, and 'The Haunting,' a darker, more suspenseful story about a girl trapped in a haunted house. In addition to her literary achievements, Mahy was also active in promoting literacy and the arts for children. She served as Children's Laureate of New Zealand from 1994 to 1997 and was awarded numerous accolades, including the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature in 2003. Margaret Mahy passed away on April 23, 2012, leaving behind a rich literary legacy that continues to enchant readers today.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best stories happen where there is water."

This quote by Margaret Mahy suggests that stories of great depth, beauty, or adventure often unfold in settings near bodies of water. The presence of water can symbolize life's ebb and flow, mystery, power, and the interconnectedness of all things, providing fertile ground for engaging narratives to take shape. Water also represents change, as it constantly moves, shapeshifts, and transforms its surroundings, much like the twists and turns that occur in a well-crafted story. Moreover, water can bring people together or separate them, creating tension and conflict, which are essential elements in many compelling stories. In essence, water in stories serves to reflect life's complexities, offering both tranquility and tumult.

"Books can take you places you've never been, and leave you changed when you get back."

This quote by Margaret Mahy emphasizes the transformative power of literature. Books transport us to different worlds, cultures, and experiences beyond our immediate surroundings. They offer perspectives that may challenge or enrich our own, thereby causing personal growth and change. In essence, reading broadens our horizons and allows for self-discovery through virtual journeys that can leave a lasting impact on us.

"I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge."

Margaret Mahy's quote suggests that while knowledge can provide facts and understanding, it is the power of one's imagination that truly defines our potential and experiences. Imagination allows us to create new ideas, envision possibilities beyond the constraints of reality, and foster innovation, resilience, and empathy. Knowledge gives us the tools to interpret the world, but it is imagination that empowers us to change it.

"Stories are like rivers - they begin with a trickle, gain momentum, and if lucky, become mighty torrents."

This quote by Margaret Mahy illustrates that stories, like rivers, start small and simple but can grow and develop into something much larger and more impactful over time. Just as a stream gradually accumulates water from tributaries and rainfall, a story gathers ideas, events, and emotions to build its narrative. With nurturing and attention, a story can become a powerful, captivating force that moves people deeply. The implication is that both stories and rivers have the potential for transformation and growth, provided they are given the right conditions to flourish.

"The world was hers for the reading."

This quote by Margaret Mahy emphasizes the transformative power of reading. It suggests that through books, one can explore various worlds beyond their physical surroundings, thereby expanding personal horizons and experiences. Reading allows individuals to immerse themselves in different cultures, times, and ideas, effectively making the world "hers" (or his), as each reader can claim ownership over the knowledge and insights gained from literature. This quote underscores the notion that reading equips people with the ability to understand and connect with a vast array of human experiences, thereby broadening perspectives and fostering empathy.

I once knew a house rather like The Land of Smiles - an old house occupied by a varied collection of young people, mainly students. However none of these people were true models for the characters in the book, though their way of life may have been.

- Margaret Mahy

Been, Rather, However, Though

It can certainly happen that characters in more sophisticated stories can 'take over' as they develop and change the author's original ideas. Well, it certainly happens to me at times.

- Margaret Mahy

Happen, Over, Certainly, Sophisticated

New Zealand is the only country I know well enough to write about. It can sometimes lead to complications.

- Margaret Mahy

New, Country, Complications, Only Country

I had to wait for a long time before I could support myself with writing. However, being a writer is what I have most wanted to be, from the time I was a child.

- Margaret Mahy

Wait, Before, However, Most Wanted

By the time ordinary life asserted itself once more, I would feel I had already lived for a while in some other lifetime, that I had even taken over someone else's life.

- Margaret Mahy

Some, Other, By The Time, Asserted

There are certainly times when my own everyday life seems to retreat so the life of the story can take me over. That is why a writer often needs space and time, so that he or she can abandon ordinary life and 'live' with the characters.

- Margaret Mahy

Life, Own, Why, Ordinary Life

The novels take longer to write than the picture book texts, and they do take a different sort of concentration. However, a very short, simple story that works well is just as exciting to me as any longer and more complex book.

- Margaret Mahy

Very, However, Works, Novels

I think I am too interested in my own ideas to copy anyone else's, but I find that other people's imagery, the flow of language in the outside world, games with words, and ideas about relationships are all most important to me.

- Margaret Mahy

Own, Other, I Think, Flow

It is a good idea to know which publishers publish which stories. For example, there is no sense in sending a picture book text to a publisher who does not publish picture books.

- Margaret Mahy

No Sense, Stories, Which, Publisher

Writing for young children I find I often use particular jokes with words and exaggerated, funny events, but some of these haunt the more complex stories for older children too.

- Margaret Mahy

Young, Some, Stories, Jokes

I am really chained to my computer these days so I work in my bedroom, which is a room I have worked in for years and years. It is just as much an office as a bedroom, and during the day, my bed is rather like an extension of my desk.

- Margaret Mahy

Bed, Rather, Extension, Bedroom

I don't think I prefer writing for one age group above another. I am just as pleased with a story which I feel works well for very small children as I do with a story for young adults.

- Margaret Mahy

Small, Very, Works, Group

Ellis's understanding of himself and the world around him certainly develops because of his adventures, and part of that development comes through recognizing other people for what they are.

- Margaret Mahy

Through, Other, Certainly, Ellis

At the same time, I think books create a sort of network in the reader's mind, with one book reinforcing another. Some books form relationships. Other books stand in opposition. No two writers or readers have the same pattern of interaction.

- Margaret Mahy

Some, Other, I Think, One Book

Anyone interested in the world generally can't help being interested in young adult culture - in the music, the bands, the books, the fashions, and the way in which the young adult community develops its own language.

- Margaret Mahy

Young, Which, Fashions, Young Adult

Being a librarian certainly helped me with my writing because it made me even more of a reader, and I was always an enthusiastic reader. Writing and reading seem to me to be different aspects of a single imaginative act.

- Margaret Mahy

Always, Made, Certainly, Enthusiastic

Of course there are big differences in length and character and vocabulary, but each level has its particular pleasures when it comes to the words one can use and the way one uses them.

- Margaret Mahy

Big, Level, Use, Uses

They are imaginary characters. But perhaps not solely the products of my imagination, since there are some aspects of the characters that relate to my own experience of a wide variety of people.

- Margaret Mahy

Some, Wide Variety, Wide, Imaginary

I hope I am not too repetitive. However, coming to terms with death is part of the general human situation.

- Margaret Mahy

Death, Part, However, Repetitive

When you are reading, someone has done a lot of work on your behalf, someone has had ideas and has then written and corrected and improved them so that they can be shared.

- Margaret Mahy

Work, Reading, Shared, Behalf

I've never actually been a fighter myself - fighting tires me out and I'm not an efficient fighter anyway - but I have certainly seen other people have great complicated goes at one another.

- Margaret Mahy

Other, Been, Certainly, Anyway

I was able to work out all sorts of attitudes to style and event and character, all of which affected the way I came to think about my own writing. I believe that all good writers are original.

- Margaret Mahy

Own, Attitudes, About, Work Out

When you are writing, of course, you have to do all that writing and correcting for yourself. When I was a librarian it was expected that I would know about a wide range of books.

- Margaret Mahy

Expected, Wide Range, Wide, Librarian

My theory is that I decided to be a writer when I was about seven, but of course it is not as simple as that. Like most writers, I had to work at other things to earn a living and wrote mainly in the evenings, often very late at night, for many years.

- Margaret Mahy

Other, Very, About, Earn

When I was a child I had a best friend who lived across the road from me. When her mother died unexpectedly it was like losing a member of my own family. I think I am still affected by the memory of that loss.

- Margaret Mahy

Own, I Think, Unexpectedly, Affected

At this stage I am not involved with young adults as closely as many other writers. My children are grown up and my grandchildren are still quite young.

- Margaret Mahy

Other, Still, Closely, Young Adults

I, personally, have found reading a continual support to writing.

- Margaret Mahy

Writing, Reading, Found, Personally

Every writer has to find their own way into writing.

- Margaret Mahy

Writing, Own, Find, Writer

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