Pnin slowly walked under solemn pines. The sky was dying. He did not believe in an autocratic God. He did believe, dimly, in a democracy of ghosts. The souls of the dead, perhaps, formed committees, and these, in continuous session, attended the destinies of the quick. ― Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin. (Heinemann 1957)
Some fall in love.I shatter. —Stephin Merritt, from “I Shatter,” 69 Love Songs, Volume Two. (1999)
Remember how it was when we kissed? Armfuls and armfuls of light thrown right at us. A rope dropping down from the sky. How can the word love and the word life even fit in the mouth? — Jandy Nelson, The Sky Is Everywhere , (Speak March 22, 2011)
To the Harbormaster I wanted to be sure to reach you;though my ship was on the way it got caught in some moorings. I am always tying up and then deciding to depart. In storms and at sunset, with the metallic coils of the tide around my fathomless arms, I am unable to understand the… Continue reading Frank O’Hara
Personally, I’m a mess of conflicting impulses—I’m independent and greedy and I also want to belong and share and be a part of the whole. I doubt that I’m the only one who feels this way. It’s the core of monster making, actually. Wanna make a monster? Take the parts of yourself that make you… Continue reading Richard Siken
I am lonely, lonely.I was born to be lonely,I am best so! — William Carlos Williams, from “Danse Russe,” The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume I, 1909-1939, edited by Christopher MacGowan.
In order to write the book you want to write, in the end you have to become the person you need to become to write that book. — Junot Díaz
I like it that you’re herehelping me cope.I like to know you’re in the room,a little out of range,not saying anythingbut letting me know I’m not alone,not entirely. — Jeet Thayil, from “Dear Heptanesia,” These Errors Are Correct. (Tranquebar: EastWest and Westland, Delhi, 2008)
Contradict yourself. In order to live, you must remain broken up. ― Wyndham Lewis
…sitting up in beddrinking good wine, talking and touchingsmoking listening to the waves… listening to the waves… — Charles Bukowski, from “The Laughing Heart,” Burning in Water Drowning in Flame. (Selected Poems 1955-1973). Black Sparrow Press ,, Los Angeles., (1974)
The Vale of Soul-Making 