65 David Shields Quotes for You to Enjoy

David Shields

American Author

Born: Jul 22, 1956

Art Life Me People Think You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

Literature matters so much to me I can hardly stand it. David Shields

Me Matters Literature Much Stand Hardly

The essential gesture of the contemporary novel is to get people to turn the page, to entertain them, and I hate that. I want a novel where the gesture is towards existential investigation on every page. That, to me, is thrilling. David Shields

Me Hate People Gesture Every Entertain Thrilling Investigation Towards Contemporary Existential Get Essential Where Want Them Turn Page Novel

I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of art can be measured by the harm spoken of it. If you're not feeling that, then absolutely, why bother? David Shields

Work Art You Writing Value Trouble Feeling Bother Absolutely Idea Spoken Liked Comfort Comfortable Always Afflict Afflicted Then Create Should Measured Why Why Bother Harm

The 'Times' is understood to be almost the unofficial biographer of the country, in some strange way to be printing a kind of quasi-neutral truth or even, in some people's minds, slightly center-left version of reality. David Shields

Truth Strange Reality People Country Minds Way Slightly Kind Unofficial Some Almost Printing Understood Version Times Strange Way Even

Straightforward fiction functions only as more Bubble Wrap, nostalgia, retreat. David Shields

Wrap More Only Bubble Retreat Fiction Nostalgia Straightforward Functions

The only requirement of a fan or a patient is the surrender to authority. David Shields

Surrender Patient Only Authority Fan Requirement

I want a nonfiction that explores our shifting, unstable, multiform, evanescent experience in and of the world. David Shields

Experience World Shifting Our Unstable Nonfiction Want Evanescent

To be honest, there are parts of 'How Literature Saved My Life' that began as interviews. Someone was telling me that they think the book sounds very phonic: that it sounds like me speaking. And I don't think it's a coincidence that there are six to ten passages that I cadged from various interviews that I did post-'Reality Hunger'. David Shields

Life Me Book My Life To Be Honest Think Saved Interviews Hunger Telling Someone Ten Various Like Parts How Passages Sounds Began Very Did Six Literature Speaking Honest Coincidence

I still see life entirely through its Darwinian prism. I keep trying to shake off the aftereffects of writing 'The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead', and I find I can't. David Shields

Life Day You Writing One Day Find See About Darwinian Shake Entirely Through Dead Prism Still Off Trying Keep Thing

We're completely confused about the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. To me, the moment you compose, you're fictionalising; the moment you remember, you're dreaming. It's ludicrous that we have to pretend that non-fiction has to be real in some absolute sense. David Shields

Me You Confused Remember Sense Pretend Dreaming Compose Some Be Real About Absolute Between Boundaries Non-Fiction Real Fiction Moment Ludicrous

Life, in my view, is simple, tragic, and frighteningly beautiful. David Shields

Life Beautiful Simple Tragic View

Take Jonathan Franzen's work: it's just old wine in new bottles. They say he's the Tolstoy of the digital age, but there can only be a Tolstoy of the Tolstoyan age. David Shields

Work Age Old Digital Wine Digital Age Say Only Take Bottles He Jonathan New Just Old Wine Tolstoy They Say

I'm very fond of this phrase: 'Collage is not a refuge for the compositionally disabled.' If you put together the pieces in a really powerful way, I think you'll let a thousand discrepancies bloom. David Shields

You Together Think Way Collage Thousand Phrase Fond Disabled Put Powerful Powerful Way Pieces Very Bloom Refuge Really

I'm not super-polite or civil - I try to be civil, but I'm not into Seattle's niceties, and I'm not hugely wired into Seattle's natural beauty. David Shields

Natural Try Beauty Natural Beauty Civil Wired Hugely Seattle

In many senses, creativity and 'plagiarism' are nearly indivisible. David Shields

Creativity Indivisible Senses Plagiarism Many Nearly

I suspect the real reason the N.F.L. and N.B.A. don't want high schoolers and college underclassmen to play with their ball is that they don't want to jeopardize their relationship with National Collegiate Athletic Association, which serves as a sort of free minor league and unpaid promotional department for the pros. David Shields

Relationship College Free National High Unpaid Minor Athletic Minor League Pros League Sort Ball Real Department Suspect Real Reason Want Which Reason Jeopardize Play Serve Association

Gerald Jonas's book about stuttering is called 'The Disorder of Many Theories.' Back theory seems to suffer from the same 'Rashomon' effect: as with almost every human problem, there is no dearth of answers and no answer. David Shields

Book Problem Every Back About Seems Almost Stuttering Answer Answers Dearth Effect Same Human Disorder Theories Theory Many Suffer

All art is theft. David Shields

Art Theft

During Ronald Reagan's administration, '60 Minutes' ran a segment about the difference between Reagan's rhetoric and Reagan's actions. The show thought it had produced a hard-hitting piece; Reagan's team called up '60 Minutes' to thank them for the 15-minute commercial. David Shields

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