John Updike Quotes

Top 100 wise famous quotes and sayings by John Updike

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John Updike Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from John Updike on Wise Famous Quotes.

John Updike quotes: Writing makes you more human. Writing makes you more human.
John Updike quotes: Laws aren't ghosts in this country, they walk around with the smell of earth on them. Laws aren't ghosts in this country, they walk around with the smell of earth on them.
John Updike quotes: Women are an alien race set down among us. Women are an alien race set down among us.
John Updike quotes: New York, like the Soviet Union, has this universal usefulness: It makes you glad you live elsewhere. New York, like the Soviet Union, has this universal usefulness: It makes you glad you live elsewhere.
John Updike quotes: We are most alive when we're in love. We are most alive when we're in love.
John Updike quotes: We were all brought up to want things and maybe the world isn't big enough for all that wanting. I don't know. I don't know anything We were all brought up to want things and maybe the world isn't big enough for all that wanting. I don't know. I don't know anything
John Updike quotes: Belief, like love, must be voluntary. Belief, like love, must be voluntary.
John Updike quotes: Fiction is burdened for me with a sense of duty. Fiction is burdened for me with a sense of duty.
John Updike quotes: Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot. Arabic is very twisting, very beautiful. The call to prayer is quite haunting; it almost makes you a believer on the spot.
John Updike quotes: The Internet doesn't like you to learn too much about explosives. The Internet doesn't like you to learn too much about explosives.
John Updike quotes: You can go to the dark side of the moon and back and see nothing more wonderful and strange than the way men and women manage to get together. You can go to the dark side of the moon and back and see nothing more wonderful and strange than the way men and women manage to get together.
John Updike quotes: How many more, I must ask myself,such perfect ends of Augusts will I witness? How many more, I must ask myself,
such perfect ends of Augusts will I witness?
John Updike quotes: The first breathe of adultery is the freest. The first breathe of adultery is the freest.
John Updike quotes: Adversity in immunological doses has its uses; more than that crushes. Adversity in immunological doses has its uses; more than that crushes.
John Updike quotes: There's almost nothing worse to live with than a struggling artist. There's almost nothing worse to live with than a struggling artist.
John Updike quotes: If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price. If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John Updike quotes: New York is, of course, many cities, and an exile does not return to the one he left. New York is, of course, many cities, and an exile does not return to the one he left.
John Updike quotes: If my mother hadn't been trying to be a writer, I don't know if I would have thought of it myself. If my mother hadn't been trying to be a writer, I don't know if I would have thought of it myself.
John Updike quotes: I'm a dull person. I'm a dull person.
John Updike quotes: Reagan has turned America into a tax haven. Reagan has turned America into a tax haven.
John Updike quotes: Somehow, it is hard to dislike a man once you have played a round of golf with him. Somehow, it is hard to dislike a man once you have played a round of golf with him.
John Updike quotes: Sex ages us. Priests are boyish, spinsters stay black-haired until after fifty. We others, the demon rots us out. Sex ages us. Priests are boyish, spinsters stay black-haired until after fifty. We others, the demon rots us out.
John Updike quotes: We are each of us like our little blue planet, hung in black space, upheld by nothing but our mutual reassurances, our loving lies. We are each of us like our little blue planet, hung in black space, upheld by nothing but our mutual reassurances, our loving lies.
John Updike quotes: Being a divorcee in a small town is a little like playing Monopoly; eventually you land on all the properties. Being a divorcee in a small town is a little like playing Monopoly; eventually you land on all the properties.
John Updike quotes: A person believes various things at various times, even on the same day. A person believes various things at various times, even on the same day.
John Updike quotes: I love my government not least for the extent to which it leaves me alone. I love my government not least for the extent to which it leaves me alone.
John Updike quotes: What interests me is why men think of women as witches. It's because they're so fascinating and exasperating, so other. What interests me is why men think of women as witches. It's because they're so fascinating and exasperating, so other.
John Updike quotes: I don't think women are dumb. I don't think women are dumb.
John Updike quotes: My father taught only math. My father taught only math.
John Updike quotes: Sunshine, the old clown, rims the room. Sunshine, the old clown, rims the room.
John Updike quotes: Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light onto the sidewalk. They civilize their neighborhoods. Bookstores are lonely forts, spilling light onto the sidewalk. They civilize their neighborhoods.
John Updike quotes: I was made to feel I could do things. If you get this feeling early and can hold it until you're 15, you tend to never lose it. I was made to feel I could do things. If you get this feeling early and can hold it until you're 15, you tend to never lose it.
John Updike quotes: The first author I met socially was Joyce Cary. The first author I met socially was Joyce Cary.
John Updike quotes: What you lose as you age is witnesses, the ones that watched from early on and cared, like your own little grandstand. What you lose as you age is witnesses, the ones that watched from early on and cared, like your own little grandstand.
John Updike quotes: A house, having been willfully purchased and furnished, tells us more than a body, and its description is a foremost resource of the art of fiction. A house, having been willfully purchased and furnished, tells us more than a body, and its description is a foremost resource of the art of fiction.
John Updike quotes: Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them. Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.
John Updike quotes: It's the strange thing about you mystics, how often your little ecstasies wear a skirt. It's the strange thing about you mystics, how often your little ecstasies wear a skirt.
John Updike quotes: My generation was maybe the last in which you could set up shop as a writer and hope to make a living at it. My generation was maybe the last in which you could set up shop as a writer and hope to make a living at it.
John Updike quotes: Chaos is God's body. Order is the Devil's chains. Chaos is God's body. Order is the Devil's chains.
John Updike quotes: Young or old, a writer sends a book into the world, not himself. Young or old, a writer sends a book into the world, not himself.
John Updike quotes: I seem to have this need to belong to some church. I get worried on Sunday mornings. I seem to have this need to belong to some church. I get worried on Sunday mornings.
John Updike quotes: Who'll hold families together, if everybody has to live? Living is a compromise, between doing what you want and doing what other people want. Who'll hold families together, if everybody has to live? Living is a compromise, between doing what you want and doing what other people want.
John Updike quotes: I have never liked haircuts. I have never liked haircuts.
John Updike quotes: Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life. Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life.
John Updike quotes: I never made a decision in my life that wasn't one hundred per cent selfish. I never made a decision in my life that wasn't one hundred per cent selfish.
John Updike quotes: Though old himself, he disliked old men. Though old himself, he disliked old men.
John Updike quotes: Part of being human is being on the verge of disgrace. Part of being human is being on the verge of disgrace.
John Updike quotes: Figure out where you're going before you go there: he was told that a long time ago. Figure out where you're going before you go there: he was told that a long time ago.
John Updike quotes: And yet does the appetite for new days ever really cease? And yet does the appetite for new days ever really cease?
John Updike quotes: Writing doesn't require drive. It's like saying a chicken has to have drive to lay an egg. Writing doesn't require drive. It's like saying a chicken has to have drive to lay an egg.
John Updike quotes: For a long time, I was under the impression that 'Terry and the Pirates' was the best comic strip in the United States. For a long time, I was under the impression that 'Terry and the Pirates' was the best comic strip in the United States.
John Updike quotes: My reading as a child was lazy and cowardly, and it is yet. I was afraid of encountering, in a book, something I didn't want to know. My reading as a child was lazy and cowardly, and it is yet. I was afraid of encountering, in a book, something I didn't want to know.
John Updike quotes: This life is the one to be lived now, that much is crystal-clear. What did Thoreau supposedly say - 'One world at a time'? This life is the one to be lived now, that much is crystal-clear. What did Thoreau supposedly say - 'One world at a time'?
John Updike quotes: Atrocity is truly emperor; All things that thrive are slaves of cruel Creation. Atrocity is truly emperor; All things that thrive are slaves of cruel Creation.
John Updike quotes: School is where you go between when your parents can't take you and industry can't take you. School is where you go between when your parents can't take you and industry can't take you.
John Updike quotes: Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer be worn. Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer be worn.
John Updike quotes: Musicians are very mysterious and wonderful people to me; I don't know how they do it. Musicians are very mysterious and wonderful people to me; I don't know how they do it.
John Updike quotes: He sounds to himself, saying this, like an impersonator; life, just as we first thought, is playing grownup. He sounds to himself, saying this, like an impersonator; life, just as we first thought, is playing grownup.
John Updike quotes: We shed skins in life, to keep living. We shed skins in life, to keep living.
John Updike quotes: Life is a nacho. It can be yummy-crunchy or squishy-yucky. It just depends on how long it takes for you to start eating it. Life is a nacho. It can be yummy-crunchy or squishy-yucky. It just depends on how long it takes for you to start eating it.
John Updike quotes: Reminiscence and self-parody are part of remaining true to oneself. Reminiscence and self-parody are part of remaining true to oneself.
John Updike quotes: Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad, hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial flowers give us. Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad, hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial flowers give us.
John Updike quotes: Do what the heart commands. The heart is our only guide. Do what the heart commands. The heart is our only guide.
John Updike quotes: Government money in the arts, I fear, can only deflect artists from their responsibility to find an authentic market for their products. Government money in the arts, I fear, can only deflect artists from their responsibility to find an authentic market for their products.
John Updike quotes: I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway. I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.
John Updike quotes: Now that I am sixty, I see why the idea of elder wisdom has passed from currency. Now that I am sixty, I see why the idea of elder wisdom has passed from currency.
John Updike quotes: Thinking it over, I can't locate another artist in the Updike family. Thinking it over, I can't locate another artist in the Updike family.
John Updike quotes: Nature refuses to rest. Nature refuses to rest.
John Updike quotes: Death is easily fooled. If the churches don't work, a filter will do. Death is easily fooled. If the churches don't work, a filter will do.
John Updike quotes: All cartoonists are geniuses, but Arnold Roth is especially so. All cartoonists are geniuses, but Arnold Roth is especially so.
John Updike quotes: The Florida sun seems not much a single thing overhead but a set of klieg lights that pursue you everywhere with an even white illumination. The Florida sun seems not much a single thing overhead but a set of klieg lights that pursue you everywhere with an even white illumination.
John Updike quotes: Oh,' she says, 'the Vat prints nothing but rapes. You know what a rape usually is? It's a woman who changed her mind afterward. Oh,' she says, 'the Vat prints nothing but rapes. You know what a rape usually is? It's a woman who changed her mind afterward.
John Updike quotes: The essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it lives for ever. The essential self is innocent, and when it tastes its own innocence knows that it lives for ever.
John Updike quotes: My life is, in a sense, trash. My life is only that of which the residue is my writing. My life is, in a sense, trash. My life is only that of which the residue is my writing.
John Updike quotes: You always find things you didn't know you were going to say, and that is the adventure ... You always find things you didn't know you were going to say, and that is the adventure ...
John Updike quotes: His insides are beginning to feel sickly. The pain of the world is a crater all these syrups and pills a thousandfold would fail to fill. His insides are beginning to feel sickly. The pain of the world is a crater all these syrups and pills a thousandfold would fail to fill.
John Updike quotes: Prose should have a flow, the forward momentum of a certain energized weight; it should feel like a voice tumbling in your ear. Prose should have a flow, the forward momentum of a certain energized weight; it should feel like a voice tumbling in your ear.
John Updike quotes: I've always tried to write about America. It's very worth a writer's effort. I've always tried to write about America. It's very worth a writer's effort.
John Updike quotes: Sometimes it seems the whole purpose of pets is to bring death into the house. Sometimes it seems the whole purpose of pets is to bring death into the house.
John Updike quotes: Actuality is a running impoverishment of possibility. Actuality is a running impoverishment of possibility.
John Updike quotes: For some of us, books are intrinsic to our sense of personal identity. For some of us, books are intrinsic to our sense of personal identity.
John Updike quotes: Time is our element, not a mistaken invader. Time is our element, not a mistaken invader.
John Updike quotes: If she'd been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem. If she'd been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem.
John Updike quotes: That's the trouble with caring about anybody, you begin to feel overprotective. Then you begin to feel crowded. That's the trouble with caring about anybody, you begin to feel overprotective. Then you begin to feel crowded.
John Updike quotes: Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have only to be still to experience. Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have only to be still to experience.
John Updike quotes: Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.
John Updike quotes: What is this? He has a sensation of touching glass. He doesn't know if they are talking about nothing or making code for the deepest meanings. What is this? He has a sensation of touching glass. He doesn't know if they are talking about nothing or making code for the deepest meanings.
John Updike quotes: Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage. Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage.
John Updike quotes: I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting. I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.
John Updike quotes: You do things and do things and nobody really has a clue. You do things and do things and nobody really has a clue.
John Updike quotes: Harvard has enough panegyrists without me. Harvard has enough panegyrists without me.
John Updike quotes: Christianity isn't looking for a rainbow. If it were ... we'd pass out opium at services. We're trying to serve God, not be God. Christianity isn't looking for a rainbow. If it were ... we'd pass out opium at services. We're trying to serve God, not be God.
John Updike quotes: By the time a partnership dissolves, it has dissolved. By the time a partnership dissolves, it has dissolved.
John Updike quotes: The books of the 1920s and '30s that are most inviting, with their handy size, generous margins, and sharp letterpress type. The books of the 1920s and '30s that are most inviting, with their handy size, generous margins, and sharp letterpress type.
John Updike quotes: Writers' lives break into two halves, Writers' lives break into two halves,
John Updike quotes: Students present themselves ... like a succession of CDs whose shimmering surface gives no clue to their contents without the equipment to play them. Students present themselves ... like a succession of CDs whose shimmering surface gives no clue to their contents without the equipment to play them.
John Updike quotes: Human was the music, natural was the static. Human was the music, natural was the static.
John Updike quotes: In the vacuum of the heart love falls forever. In the vacuum of the heart love falls forever.
John Updike quotes: I don't think about politics," Rabbit says. "That's one of my Goddam precious American rights, not to think about politics. I don't think about politics," Rabbit says. "That's one of my Goddam precious American rights, not to think about politics.
John Updike quotes: The writers we tend to universally admire, like Beckett, or Kafka, or TS Eliot, are not very prolific. The writers we tend to universally admire, like Beckett, or Kafka, or TS Eliot, are not very prolific.

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