12 Michael Cunningham Quotes for You to Enjoy

Michael Cunningham

American Writer

Born: Nov 6, 1952

Book Feel First Great Will You

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

You have started the book with this bubble over your head that contains a cathedral full of fire - that contains a novel so vast and great and penetrating and bright and dark that it will put all other novels ever written to shame. And then, as you get towards the end, you begin to realise, no, it's just this book. Michael Cunningham

Great You Book Dark Will Fire Other Penetrating Shame Vast Bubble Written Put Head Towards Contains Over Cathedral End Begin Get Just Realise Then Your Full Novel Novels Bright Ever Started

Virginia Woolf came along in the early part of the century and essentially said through her writing, yes, big books can be written about the traditional big subjects. There is war. There is the search for God. These are all very important things. Michael Cunningham

War God Writing Important Big Important Things Virginia Virginia Woolf Books About Through Part Written Along Said Came Traditional Subjects Yes Very Essentially Woolf Century Search Her Things Early

As any student of literature knows, the books that last are often not the books that are most popular when they are written. Both 'Moby Dick' and 'The Great Gatsby' were complete failures, critically and commercially, when they first appeared. Michael Cunningham

The only difference was one of them was trying to make a perfect cake and one of them was trying to write a great book. But if we remove that from the equation, it's the same impulse and they are equally entitled to their ecstasies and their despair. Michael Cunningham

Great Book Cake Entitled Remove Despair Great Book Only Only Difference Perfect Write Make Equally Equation Trying Same Impulse Difference Them

Before there was any talk of a movie, people would sometimes ask me what actors I would imagine playing these characters. And the only thing I could ever say is: I have such a clear idea of these characters that they'd have to play themselves. Michael Cunningham

As writers we must, from our very opening sentence, speak with authority to our readers. Michael Cunningham

Speak Our Must Writers Opening Readers Very Authority Sentence

I encourage the translators of my books to take as much license as they feel that they need. This is not quite the heroic gesture it might seem, because I've learned, from working with translators over the years, that the original novel is, in a way, a translation itself. Michael Cunningham

Like my hero Virginia Woolf, I do lack confidence. I always find that the novel I'm finishing, even if it's turned out fairly well, is not the novel I had in my mind. I think a lot of writers must negotiate this, and if they don't admit it, they're not being honest. Michael Cunningham

Confidence Hero Mind Think Virginia Virginia Woolf Negotiate Out Must Find Admit Finishing Writers Had Like Well Fairly Always Lot Lack Being Woolf Being Honest Turned Even Novel Honest

I love movies, I love television, I love narratives of all kinds. Michael Cunningham

Love Television Kinds Narratives Movies

A certain slightly cruel disregard for the feelings of living people is simply part of the package. I think a writer, if he's any good, is not an entirely benign entity in the world. Michael Cunningham

Good People World Feelings Living Think Benign Slightly Entirely Entity Writer Cruel He Part Simply Any Package Certain Disregard

I revise constantly, as I go along and then again after I've finished a first draft. Few of my novels contain a single sentence that closely resembles the sentence I first set down. I just find that I have to keep zapping and zapping the English language until it starts to behave in some way that vaguely matches my intentions. Michael Cunningham

Language Finished First Single Few Down Starts Way Find Constantly Some Contain Along Until Matches Go Revise Behave Closely Just Intentions After Again Sentence Then English English Language Resembles Novels Keep Draft Set Vaguely

Virginia Woolf's great novel, 'Mrs. Dalloway,' is the first great book I ever read. I read it almost by accident when I was in high school, when I was 15 years old. Michael Cunningham

Great Book School Old First Accident Virginia Great Book High High School Almost Read Years Woolf Novel Ever

Michael Cunningham Quotes

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