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J G Ballard Quotes

I don’t think any particular painters have inspired me, except in a general sense. It was more a matter of corroboration. The visual arts, from Manet onwards, seemed far more open to change and experiment than the novel, though that’s only partly the fault of the writers. There’s something about the novel that resists innovation Picture Quote #1

I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions in all my work, that I deliberately set up an obsessional frame of mind. In a paradoxical way, this leaves one free of the subject of the obsession Picture Quote #1

The first drafts of my novels have all been written in longhand, and then I type them up on my old electric. I have resisted getting a computer because I distrust the whole PC thing. I don’t think a great book has yet been written on computer Picture Quote #1

Enlightened legislation or enlightened social activity of whatever kind, does play into the hands of people with agendas of their own. If you legalize euthanasia, you provide a field day for people who like killing other people Picture Quote #1

Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there Picture Quote #1

I think of science fiction as being part of the great river of imaginative fiction that has flowed through English literature, probably for 400 or 500 years, well predating modern science Picture Quote #1

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In March 1943, my parents, four-year-old sister and I were interned with other foreign civilians at Lunghua camp, a former teacher training college outside Shanghai, where we remained until the end of August 1945 Picture Quote #1

At the school I attended, the clergyman who ran the cathedral school in Shanghai would give lines to the boys as a punishment. They expected you to copy out, say, 20 or 30 pages from one of the school texts. But I found that rather than laboriously copying out something from a novel by Charles Dickens, it was easier if I made it up myself Picture Quote #1

People think that by living on some mountainside in a tent and being frozen to death by freezing rain, they’re somehow discovering reality, but of course that’s just another fiction dreamed up by a TV producer Picture Quote #1

The chief role of the universities is to prolong adolescence into middle age, at which point early retirement ensures that we lack the means or the will to enforce significant change Picture Quote #1

One of the things I took from my wartime experiences was that reality was a stage set... the comfortable day-to-day life, school, the home where one lives and all the rest of it... could be dismantled overnight Picture Quote #1

All through my career I’ve written 1,000 words a day - even if I’ve got a hangover. You’ve got to discipline yourself if you’re professional. There’s no other way Picture Quote #1

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Memories have huge staying power, but like dreams, they thrive in the dark, surviving for decades in the deep waters of our minds like shipwrecks on the sea bed Picture Quote #1

I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic Picture Quote #1

Presumably all obsessions are extreme metaphors waiting to be born. That whole private mythology, in which I believe totally, is a collaboration between one’s conscious mind and those obsessions that, one by one, present themselves as stepping-stones Picture Quote #1

I’ve seen descriptions of advanced TV systems in which a simulation of reality is computer-controlled; the TV viewer of the future will wear a special helmet. You’ll no longer be an external spectator to fiction created by others, but an active participant in your own fantasies/dramas Picture Quote #1

The residents had eliminated both past and future, and for all their activity, they existed in a civilized and eventless world Picture Quote #1

I was born in the city’s general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It was a magical place. There were receptions at the French Club, race meetings at the Shanghai Racecourse, and various patriotic gatherings at the British Embassy on the Bund, the city’s glamorous waterfront area Picture Quote #1

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There are signs, I think, that people aren’t satisfied by consumerism: that people resent the fact that the most moral decision in their lives is choosing what colour their next car will be Picture Quote #1

I had a very mixed kind of childhood reading. I read the childhood classics like ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ‘Chums Annual.’ At the same time, I read an enormous number of American comics because Shanghai was an American zone of influence Picture Quote #1

The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. We realize how suffocatingly humane we’ve become, dedicated to moderation and the middle way. The suburbanization of the soul has overrun our planet like the plague Picture Quote #1

Unhappy parents teach you a lesson that lasts a lifetime Picture Quote #1

My brief stay at the hospital had already convinced me that the medical profession was an open door to anyone nursing a grudge against the human race Picture Quote #1

The advanced societies of the future will not be governed by reason. They will be driven by irrationality, by competing systems of psychopathology Picture Quote #1

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The residents had eliminated both past and future, and for all their activity, they existed in a civilized and eventless world Picture Quote #1

Our lives today are not conducted in linear terms. They are much more quantified; a stream of random events is taking place Picture Quote #1

There is a British pop group called God. At a recent book signing the lead singer introduced himself and gave me a cassette. I have heard the voice of God Picture Quote #1

Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there Picture Quote #1

An arts degree is like a diploma in origami. And about as much use Picture Quote #1

Sex times technology equals the future Picture Quote #1

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Text Quotes

I don’t think any particular painters have inspired me, except in a general sense. It was more a matter of corroboration. The visual arts, from Manet onwards, seemed far more open to change and experiment than the novel, though that’s only partly the fault of the writers. There’s something about the novel that resists innovation. (J G Ballard Quotes) I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions in all my work, that I deliberately set up an obsessional frame of mind. In a paradoxical way, this leaves one free of the subject of the obsession. (J G Ballard Quotes) The first drafts of my novels have all been written in longhand, and then I type them up on my old electric. I have resisted getting a computer because I distrust the whole PC thing. I don’t think a great book has yet been written on computer. (J G Ballard Quotes) Enlightened legislation or enlightened social activity of whatever kind, does play into the hands of people with agendas of their own. If you legalize euthanasia, you provide a field day for people who like killing other people. (J G Ballard Quotes) Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there. (J G Ballard Quotes) I think of science fiction as being part of the great river of imaginative fiction that has flowed through English literature, probably for 400 or 500 years, well predating modern science. (J G Ballard Quotes) In March 1943, my parents, four-year-old sister and I were interned with other foreign civilians at Lunghua camp, a former teacher training college outside Shanghai, where we remained until the end of August 1945. (J G Ballard Quotes) At the school I attended, the clergyman who ran the cathedral school in Shanghai would give lines to the boys as a punishment. They expected you to copy out, say, 20 or 30 pages from one of the school texts. But I found that rather than laboriously copying out something from a novel by Charles Dickens, it was easier if I made it up myself. (J G Ballard Quotes) People think that by living on some mountainside in a tent and being frozen to death by freezing rain, they’re somehow discovering reality, but of course that’s just another fiction dreamed up by a TV producer. (J G Ballard Quotes) The chief role of the universities is to prolong adolescence into middle age, at which point early retirement ensures that we lack the means or the will to enforce significant change. (J G Ballard Quotes) One of the things I took from my wartime experiences was that reality was a stage set... the comfortable day-to-day life, school, the home where one lives and all the rest of it... could be dismantled overnight. (J G Ballard Quotes) All through my career I’ve written 1,000 words a day - even if I’ve got a hangover. You’ve got to discipline yourself if you’re professional. There’s no other way. (J G Ballard Quotes) Memories have huge staying power, but like dreams, they thrive in the dark, surviving for decades in the deep waters of our minds like shipwrecks on the sea bed. (J G Ballard Quotes) I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic (J G Ballard Quotes) Presumably all obsessions are extreme metaphors waiting to be born. That whole private mythology, in which I believe totally, is a collaboration between one’s conscious mind and those obsessions that, one by one, present themselves as stepping-stones. (J G Ballard Quotes) I’ve seen descriptions of advanced TV systems in which a simulation of reality is computer-controlled; the TV viewer of the future will wear a special helmet. You’ll no longer be an external spectator to fiction created by others, but an active participant in your own fantasies/dramas. (J G Ballard Quotes) The residents had eliminated both past and future, and for all their activity, they existed in a civilized and eventless world. (J G Ballard Quotes) I was born in the city’s general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It was a magical place. There were receptions at the French Club, race meetings at the Shanghai Racecourse, and various patriotic gatherings at the British Embassy on the Bund, the city’s glamorous waterfront area. (J G Ballard Quotes) There are signs, I think, that people aren’t satisfied by consumerism: that people resent the fact that the most moral decision in their lives is choosing what colour their next car will be. (J G Ballard Quotes) I had a very mixed kind of childhood reading. I read the childhood classics like ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ‘Chums Annual.’ At the same time, I read an enormous number of American comics because Shanghai was an American zone of influence. (J G Ballard Quotes) The twentieth century ended with its dreams in ruins. The notion of the community as a voluntary association of enlightened citizens has died forever. We realize how suffocatingly humane we’ve become, dedicated to moderation and the middle way. The suburbanization of the soul has overrun our planet like the plague (J G Ballard Quotes) Unhappy parents teach you a lesson that lasts a lifetime (J G Ballard Quotes) My brief stay at the hospital had already convinced me that the medical profession was an open door to anyone nursing a grudge against the human race (J G Ballard Quotes) The advanced societies of the future will not be governed by reason. They will be driven by irrationality, by competing systems of psychopathology (J G Ballard Quotes) The residents had eliminated both past and future, and for all their activity, they existed in a civilized and eventless world (J G Ballard Quotes) Our lives today are not conducted in linear terms. They are much more quantified; a stream of random events is taking place (J G Ballard Quotes) There is a British pop group called God. At a recent book signing the lead singer introduced himself and gave me a cassette. I have heard the voice of God (J G Ballard Quotes) Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer’s role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there (J G Ballard Quotes) An arts degree is like a diploma in origami. And about as much use (J G Ballard Quotes) Sex times technology equals the future (J G Ballard Quotes)

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