Bear with me… Henry James appears, in this quote from this article , to be on the “Art”, not the “Theory” side: “We must grant the artist his subject, his idea, what the French call his donnée; our criticism is applied only to what he makes of it. Naturally I do not mean that we …
Tag: Quotes
True Writing Quote
From Ron Hansen, quoting John Gardner: “My favorite piece of advice for beginning writers comes from John Gardner, that you should write the fiction you like to read. We immediately recognize phoniness or when a writer’s heart isn’t in the material.”
Quote
This one is the only one by Bertholdt Brecht I like, at least outside of his collaborations with Kurt Weill, and one of only two great quotes by diehard Marxists I can remember. Anyone know the other? Hint: it was by the most interesting old Commie ever… Brecht, though: “Would it not be easier In …
Two for the Books
From Joe Queenan’s bibliophile’s memoir One for the Books: “Great writers say things that are so beautiful, the act of repeating them makes life itself more beautiful.” “I love to pull my books down off the shelf and read striking passages to baffled dimwits who have turned up at my house.”
Good Book Quotes
From Joe Queenan’s One For The Books: “I love to pull my books down off the shelf and read striking passages to baffled dimwits who have turned up at my house.” And: “”Great writers say things that are so beautiful, the very act of repeating them makes life itself more beautiful.”
Hilarious…
.. and irreverent true quote, by Rob Macfarlane (who is as fond of Paddy Leigh Fermor as I am): “This was the man whom the travel writer Robert Macfarlane, reviewing Ms. Cooper’s book in The Guardian, called “a mixture of Peter Pan, Forrest Gump, James Bond and Thomas Browne.”
Guest Quotes– Teddy Moritz
Teddy writes: “Just finished a book by Christine Byl titled ‘Dirt Work, An Education in the Woods’. This woman worked summers on trail maintenance in Glacier National Park, and in several parks in Alaska. She talks about the grunt work, the digging and clearing and loading and discomfort of physical work. She loved it all. …
Quote
“I am not a huge fan of Rimbaud’s work, though I respect him for dropping it all and becoming a coffee trader and arms dealer in north Africa.” (Micah Mattix)
Two Quotes
Another Marcus Aurelius, quoted by Philip Caputo in Ghosts of Tsavo: “When Thou risest reluctantly in the morning, let this thought be present: I am rising to do the work of a human being.” And one from Federico Calboli: “… Stuff is eaten by dogs, broken by family and friends, sanded down by the wind, …
A quote or two
From Gerry Cox: “There’s a saying in the world of antique furniture, ‘The only substitute for knowledge is money, a lot of money.’ ” Of course the reverse is also true– see the gun featured just a post or two above… Not at ALL “By the Way”; Gerry has joined two of our inner guns- …