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William Saroyan Quotes

I don’t have a name and I don’t have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel Picture Quote #1

I’m not the kind of guy to knock at a door and then when the door is opened not go in Picture Quote #1

It is a pity, in my opinion, that no prize exists for the writer who best refrains from adding to the world’s bad books Picture Quote #1

Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed Picture Quote #1

I have never received a telephone call that justified the excitement and fuss of the electronics involved. If I can’t see somebody I love, for instance, such as a daughter, or a son, I would rather receive a letter Picture Quote #1

The purpose of writing is both to keep up with life and to run ahead of it. I am little comfort to myself, although I am the only comfort I have, excepting perhaps streets, clouds, the sun, the faces and voices of kids and the aged, and similar accidents of beauty, innocence, truth and loneliness Picture Quote #1

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Unless a man has pity he is not truly a man. If a man has not wept at the worlds pain he is only half a man, and there will always be pain in the world, knowing this does not mean that a man shall dispair. A good man will seek to take pain out of things. A foolish man will not even notice it, except in himself, and the poor unfortunate evil man will drive pain deeper into things and spread it about wherever he goes Picture Quote #1

I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take away from a man his madness without also taking away his identity? Are we sure it is desirable for a man’s spirit not to be at war with itself, or that it is better to be serene and ready to go to dinner than to be excited and unwilling to stop for a cup of coffee, even? Picture Quote #1

You must remember always to give, of everything you have. You must give foolishly even. You must be extravagant. You must give to all who come into your life. Then nothing and no one shall have power to cheat you of anything, for if you give to a thief, he cannot steal from you, and he himself is then no longer a thief. And the more you give, the more you will have to give Picture Quote #1

I always know a lie when I hear it, and the effect it has on me is no good at all. I go berserk just forcing myself not to go berserk, just trying to see truth in the lie, to see it in full context, and in a dimension in which it has got to be more than just a lie, possibly the profoundest kind of truth Picture Quote #1

Love doesn’t have to be perfect. Even perfect, it is still the best thing there is, for the simple reason that it is the most common and constant truth of all, of all life, all law and order, the very thing which holds everything together, which permits everything to move along in time and be its wonderful or ordinary self Picture Quote #1

I was a little afraid of him; not the boy himself, but of what he seemed to be: The victim of the world Picture Quote #1

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Indians are born with an instinct for riding, rowing, hunting, fishing, and swimming. Americans are born with an instinct for fooling around with machines Picture Quote #1

There is little pride in writers. They know they are human and shall some day die and be forgotten. Knowing all this a writer is gentle and kindly where another man is severe and unkind Picture Quote #1

I began to write in the first place because I expected everything to change, and I wanted to have things in writing the way they had been. Just a little things, of course. A little of my little Picture Quote #1

I sometimes think that rich men belong to another nationality entirely, no matter what their actual nationality happens to be. The nationality of the rich Picture Quote #1

Everybody has to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what? Picture Quote #1

If you can’t write a decent short story because of the cold, write something else. Write anything. Write a long letter to somebody Picture Quote #1

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What I intended to do was to burn a half dozen of my books and keep warm, so that I could write my story, but when I looked around for titles to burn, I couldn’t find any Picture Quote #1

There is much for a young writer to learn from our poorest writers. It is very destructive to burn bad books, almost more destructive than to burn good ones Picture Quote #1

It seemed to me that I had no right to burn a book I hadn’t even read Picture Quote #1

I couldn’t understand the language, I couldn’t understand a word in the whole book, but it was somehow too eloquent to use for a fire Picture Quote #1

The only thing I can talk about is the cold because it is the only thing going on today Picture Quote #1

Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know Picture Quote #1

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Poetry must be read to be poetry. It may be that one reader is all that I deserve. If this is so, I want that reader to be you Picture Quote #1

I have made a fiasco of my life, but I have had the right material to work with Picture Quote #1

Go ahead. Fire your feeble guns. You won’t kill anything. There will always be poets in the world Picture Quote #1

It is better to be a good human being than to be a bad one. It is just naturally better Picture Quote #1

Art can no longer afford to be contemptuous of politics, and it appears to be time politics took a little instruction from art Picture Quote #1

The weakness of art is that great poems do not ennoble politics, as they certainly should, and the trouble with politics is that they inspire poets only to mockery and scorn Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

I don’t have a name and I don’t have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel (William Saroyan Quotes) I’m not the kind of guy to knock at a door and then when the door is opened not go in (William Saroyan Quotes) It is a pity, in my opinion, that no prize exists for the writer who best refrains from adding to the world’s bad books (William Saroyan Quotes) Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed (William Saroyan Quotes) I have never received a telephone call that justified the excitement and fuss of the electronics involved. If I can’t see somebody I love, for instance, such as a daughter, or a son, I would rather receive a letter (William Saroyan Quotes) The purpose of writing is both to keep up with life and to run ahead of it. I am little comfort to myself, although I am the only comfort I have, excepting perhaps streets, clouds, the sun, the faces and voices of kids and the aged, and similar accidents of beauty, innocence, truth and loneliness (William Saroyan Quotes) Unless a man has pity he is not truly a man. If a man has not wept at the worlds pain he is only half a man, and there will always be pain in the world, knowing this does not mean that a man shall dispair. A good man will seek to take pain out of things. A foolish man will not even notice it, except in himself, and the poor unfortunate evil man will drive pain deeper into things and spread it about wherever he goes (William Saroyan Quotes) I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take away from a man his madness without also taking away his identity? Are we sure it is desirable for a man’s spirit not to be at war with itself, or that it is better to be serene and ready to go to dinner than to be excited and unwilling to stop for a cup of coffee, even? (William Saroyan Quotes) You must remember always to give, of everything you have. You must give foolishly even. You must be extravagant. You must give to all who come into your life. Then nothing and no one shall have power to cheat you of anything, for if you give to a thief, he cannot steal from you, and he himself is then no longer a thief. And the more you give, the more you will have to give (William Saroyan Quotes) I always know a lie when I hear it, and the effect it has on me is no good at all. I go berserk just forcing myself not to go berserk, just trying to see truth in the lie, to see it in full context, and in a dimension in which it has got to be more than just a lie, possibly the profoundest kind of truth (William Saroyan Quotes) Love doesn’t have to be perfect. Even perfect, it is still the best thing there is, for the simple reason that it is the most common and constant truth of all, of all life, all law and order, the very thing which holds everything together, which permits everything to move along in time and be its wonderful or ordinary self (William Saroyan Quotes) I was a little afraid of him; not the boy himself, but of what he seemed to be: The victim of the world (William Saroyan Quotes) Indians are born with an instinct for riding, rowing, hunting, fishing, and swimming. Americans are born with an instinct for fooling around with machines (William Saroyan Quotes) There is little pride in writers. They know they are human and shall some day die and be forgotten. Knowing all this a writer is gentle and kindly where another man is severe and unkind (William Saroyan Quotes) I began to write in the first place because I expected everything to change, and I wanted to have things in writing the way they had been. Just a little things, of course. A little of my little (William Saroyan Quotes) I sometimes think that rich men belong to another nationality entirely, no matter what their actual nationality happens to be. The nationality of the rich (William Saroyan Quotes) Everybody has to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what? (William Saroyan Quotes) If you can’t write a decent short story because of the cold, write something else. Write anything. Write a long letter to somebody (William Saroyan Quotes) What I intended to do was to burn a half dozen of my books and keep warm, so that I could write my story, but when I looked around for titles to burn, I couldn’t find any (William Saroyan Quotes) There is much for a young writer to learn from our poorest writers. It is very destructive to burn bad books, almost more destructive than to burn good ones (William Saroyan Quotes) It seemed to me that I had no right to burn a book I hadn’t even read (William Saroyan Quotes) I couldn’t understand the language, I couldn’t understand a word in the whole book, but it was somehow too eloquent to use for a fire (William Saroyan Quotes) The only thing I can talk about is the cold because it is the only thing going on today (William Saroyan Quotes) Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know (William Saroyan Quotes) Poetry must be read to be poetry. It may be that one reader is all that I deserve. If this is so, I want that reader to be you (William Saroyan Quotes) I have made a fiasco of my life, but I have had the right material to work with (William Saroyan Quotes) Go ahead. Fire your feeble guns. You won’t kill anything. There will always be poets in the world (William Saroyan Quotes) It is better to be a good human being than to be a bad one. It is just naturally better (William Saroyan Quotes) Art can no longer afford to be contemptuous of politics, and it appears to be time politics took a little instruction from art (William Saroyan Quotes) The weakness of art is that great poems do not ennoble politics, as they certainly should, and the trouble with politics is that they inspire poets only to mockery and scorn (William Saroyan Quotes)

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