37 George Saunders Quotes for You to Enjoy

George Saunders

American Writer

Born: Dec 2, 1958

Life Me People Think World You

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

The scariest thought in the world is that someday I'll wake up and realize I've been sleepwalking through my life: underappreciating the people I love, making the same hurtful mistakes over and over, a slave to neuroses, fear, and the habitual. George Saunders

Life Love People World Fear Wake Up Thought My Life Mistakes Hurtful Scariest Someday Neuroses Through Habitual Over Making Been Wake Up Same Realize Slave

You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are in Armani cloth sacks - especially in a time like ours, when materialism is not only rampant and ascendant but is fast becoming the only game in town. George Saunders

Time You Game Other Other Kids Rampant Kid Kids Ours Dresses Parent Only Sack Armani Town Like Becoming Materialism His Cloth Want Ascendant Who Fast

The cool parts - the parts that have won Dubai its reputation as 'the Vegas of the Middle East' or 'the Venice of the Middle East' or 'the Disney World of the Middle East, if Disney World were the size of San Francisco and out in a desert' - have been built in the last ten years. George Saunders

World Dubai Reputation Francisco East Out Ten Ten Years Vegas Venice Parts Built Were Been Years Won Middle Size Middle East San San Francisco Disney Cool Desert Last

The universal human laws - need, love for the beloved, fear, hunger, periodic exaltation, the kindness that rises up naturally in the absence of hunger/fear/pain - are constant, predictable, reliable, universal, and are merely ornamented with the details of local culture. George Saunders

When I was a kid, I took 'The Brady Bunch' and 'The Partridge Family' very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus. George Saunders

To me, the writer's main job is to just make the story unscroll in such a way that the reader is snared - she's right there, seeing things happen and caring about them. And if you dedicate yourself to this job, the meanings more or less take care of themselves. That's the theory, anyway. George Saunders

Me You Yourself Care Job Caring Way Seeing About More More Or Less Writer Take Main Take Care She Make Reader Just Happen Story Anyway Them Themselves Meanings Dedicate Less Theory Such A Way Right Things Things Happen

I'm finding, as I get older, that I'm not much of a believer in redemption. I mean, I believe in redemption in real life - redemption does happen, and it's cool when it does - but I find myself getting leery of my desire for it in stories (especially my own). George Saunders

The artist's job, I think, is to be a conduit for mystery. To intuit it, and recognize that the story-germ has some inherent mystery in it, and sort of midwife that mystery into the story in such a way that it isn't damaged in the process, and may even get heightened or refined. George Saunders

Job Think Way Recognize Some Mystery Sort Refined Conduit Get Artist May Process Story Midwife Inherent Such A Way Even Damaged

I've had the thought that a person's 'artistic vision' is really just the cumulative combination of whatever particular stances he has sincerely occupied during his creative life - even if some of those might appear contradictory. George Saunders

Life Creative Vision Thought Whatever Those Some Had He Combination Sincerely Particular Occupied His Cumulative Contradictory Person Artistic Just Might Really Creative Life Appear Even

That seems to be the definition of 'novel' for me: a story that hasn't yet discovered a way to be brief. George Saunders

Me Way Definition Seems Discovered Story Novel Brief

There might be a different model for a literary community that's quicker, more real-time, and involves more spontaneity. George Saunders

Community More Spontaneity Involves Quicker Model Different Literary Might

I think fiction isn't so good at being for or against things in general - the rhetorical argument a short story can make is only actualized by the accretion of particular details, and the specificity of these details renders whatever conclusions the story reaches invalid for wider application. George Saunders

Good Argument Whatever Think Details Invalid General Only Particular Make Conclusions Accretion Short Being Fiction Rhetorical Short Story Story Against Specificity Things Application Wider

It's funny with fiction - once you cut something, it hasn't happened anymore. George Saunders

Funny You Once Something Anymore Fiction Happened Cut

Back in 1992, I had my first story accepted by 'The New Yorker.' George Saunders

First Back Had New Accepted Yorker New Yorker Story

We have that illusion that we are 'deciding' what to make a character do, in order to 'convey our message' or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who's been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water. George Saunders

Character You Experience Water Illusion Bonus Our Guide Possible Something More Purposely Steer Like Message Make Clients Least Been Often Order Deciding Convey Paid Your

We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish. George Saunders

Age Try Vanish Posture Fail Die Pontificate Then Aspire Shrink

Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another. George Saunders

Life Truth Good You People Other Saves Unlike Machine Says Favor Systems Kind Bad Sloth Bet Cruel Knowing Another Answers Eradicate Yes Fiction Literature Us

The mind is a machine that is constantly asking: What would I prefer? Close your eyes, refuse to move, and watch what your mind does. What it does is become discontent with that-which-is. A desire arises, you satisfy that desire, and another arises in its place. George Saunders

The word 'funny' is a bit like the word 'love' - we don't have enough words to describe the many varieties. George Saunders

Love Funny Words Word Enough Bit Like Many Describe

When I write I know that I'm going to have to produce 40 percent more than I need. George Saunders

Percent More Write Know Than Going Produce Need

The best thing that ever happened to me is that nothing happened in writing. I ended up working for engineering companies, and that's where I found my material, in the everyday struggle between capitalism and grace. Being broke and tired, you don't come home your best self. George Saunders

Best Home Me Tired You Capitalism Struggle Writing Grace Nothing Engineering Everyday Broke Self Between Come Material Up Ended Being Where Happened Being Broke Working Your Companies Found Ever Thing

I often think about image, and image is something that - but in truth, the real artistic process, as I've understood it, is 95 percent intuitive, like seat-of-the-pants, at-the-moment decisions that you can't even explain, you know? George Saunders

Truth You Think Intuitive About Percent Something Like Know Real Understood Often Artistic Process Decisions Explain Even Image

When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn't see it. He can't. He's average and is surrounded by and immersed in the cant and discourse of the status quo. George Saunders

Culture Immersed Bad Status Status Quo See Something Guy He Discourse Surrounded Going Quo Cant Average Average Guy Really

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