This, I thought, is how great visionaries and poets see everything–as if for the first time. Each morning they see a new world before their eyes; they do not really see it, they create it. — Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek. (1964) Directed by Michael Cacoyannis
When you write, you should put your skin on the table. ― Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Journey to the End of the Night. (New Directions; Reprint edition, May 17, 2006) Originally published 1932.
But most of all, as summer slanted to an end, he was learning to love idleness… — J. M. Coetzee, Life and Times of Michael K. (Vintage Books, March 28, 2005) Originally published 1983,
I want shade, I want shade and anonymity. — Clarice Lispector, from “The Departure,” The Complete Stories. (New Directions; Reprint edition, July 31, 2015)
Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily,… Continue reading J. D. Salinger
Your head has dissolved into thin air and I can see the rhododendrons through your stomach. It’s not that you are dead or anything dramatic like that, it is simply that you are fading away and I can’t even remember your name. — Leonora Carrington, The Hearing Trumpet. (Exact Change; 1ST edition, February 2, 2004)… Continue reading Leonora Carrington
I found it ironic that I should be blessed with wings and yet feel so constrained, so trapped. It was because of my condition, I believe, that I noticed life’s ironies a bit more often than the average person. I collected them: how love arrived when you least expected it, how someone who said he… Continue reading Leslye Walton
