Quotes by scottish authors

I don't want to suggest that matrimony was necessarily a tragic affair - some of our neighbours' marriages seemed quite functional, if somewhat routine; nevertheless, in the workaday world, it is wedlock that is most likely to offer the occasion for life-threatening disappointment. John Burnside
Disappointment World Our Neighbours Marriages Some Seemed Wedlock Life-Threatening Somewhat Nevertheless Most Likely Occasion Affair Tragic Matrimony Offer Quite Want Functional Routine Necessarily Suggest
Sometimes, though only in my most unguarded moments, I can still think of Annette Winters as my first love. At fifteen, she was tall, slender, very dark: an intelligent, sly girl possessed of what I think of now, though I didn't think of then, as a kind of debatable beauty. John Burnside
Love Dark Sometimes Girl First Beauty Think Slender Possessed Though Kind Sly Only Winters Most First Love She Tall Still Debatable Very Intelligent Fifteen Then Moments Now
When you have a child, you think about your personal history and what you offer them as a larger narrative, and I realised I knew nothing about my father's circumstances other than what he'd told me. John Burnside
Me History You Father Nothing Think Other Circumstances About He Knew Narrative Offer Than Child Personal Realised Them Your Larger
My father was this big, tough guy, almost heroic in proportion to me as a child. It was only later that I saw how fearful he was. John Burnside
Me Father Tough Big Heroic Later Saw Fearful Guy Only Tough Guy Proportion He Almost How Child
My poems tend to be more celebratory and lyrical, and the novels so far pretty dark. Poetry doesn't seem to me to be an appropriate tool for exploring that. John Burnside
Me Dark Tool Lyrical Appropriate Pretty Seem Poems More Poetry Tend Far Exploring Novels
I'm interested in the way language is used to navigate the world around us. John Burnside
World Language Way Around Interested Us Used Navigate
'Moby-Dick' really threw me. I read it when I was 14 and my best friends were books. It changed the way I looked at the world. John Burnside
Best Me World Changed Books Way Threw Looked Read Were Friends Really
I always wanted to be a painter. I loved painting. I went on three different art courses but had no talent whatsoever. John Burnside
Art Three Painting No Talent Had Talent Courses Always Whatsoever Different Wanted Loved Painter
I love long sentences. My big heroes of fiction writing are Henry James and Proust - people who recognise that life doesn't consist of declarative statements, but rather modifications, qualifications and feelings. John Burnside
Life Love People Writing Heroes Long Feelings Big Statements Consist Recognise Rather Qualifications Proust Fiction James Fiction Writing Sentences Who Henry Henry James
Growing up, I learnt to think, 'Let's make it a big night tonight, as you never know what's going to happen next.' So now I have enough, I take too much; when I get the chance to have a fine dinner, I will. And it's had an effect on my health. John Burnside
Health You Too Much Will Dinner Big Think Too Enough Fine Take Never Had Know Make Learnt Effect Up Get Going Happen Much Next Growing Growing Up Now Night Chance Tonight
'The Asylum Dance' was written after I'd moved back to Scotland and was a response to moving to my old home area of Fife. John Burnside
Home Old Dance Back Asylum Response Area Written Scotland Moved After Moving Old Home Fife
I really like to try my hand at everything, and I think it's probably dangerous to let oneself be pigeon-holed, not necessarily by other people, but in one's own mind. John Burnside
People Dangerous Try Mind Own Think Other Everything Oneself Like Pigeon-Holed Hand Really Necessarily
The way I mainly use the Internet is keeping in touch with poets that live far away. My main interest is contemporary American poets and some Spanish language poets, and I keep in touch with their work through either their websites or email. John Burnside
Work Language Internet Websites Live Email Way Some Touch Poets Through Main Mainly Contemporary American Either Interest Spanish Far Far Away Use Keep Away Keeping
I realised I'd spent a lot of time in my poetry trying to find a way of talking about that whereof we cannot speak. John Burnside
Time Speak Way Spent We Cannot Find About Poetry Talking Lot Trying Whereof Cannot Realised
As a child, I was consumed with a near-obsessive curiosity about what the world felt like for other creatures. John Burnside
World Other About Consumed Like Felt Child Curiosity Creatures
The son of a Fife mining town sledder of coal-bings, bottle-forager, and picture-house troglodyte, I was decidedly urban and knew little about native fauna, other than the handful of birds I saw on trips to the beach or Sunday walks. John Burnside
Son Sunday Walks Other Birds Saw Mining About Trips Beach Knew Town Handful Than Native Decidedly Urban Little Fife
One of the most beautiful objects I have ever seen was a Yupik wolf mask, made in Nunivak in around 1890. John Burnside
Beautiful Most Beautiful Made Seen Mask Wolf Objects Most Around Ever
I remember a nightfall from childhood, far from home and off the known track: I'd been walking with some older boys, but they ran off and left me, and as darkness hurried in, I suddenly realised how far from home I was. John Burnside
Home Me Darkness Remember Older Ran Some Track Known Boy How How Far Been Off Left Walking Childhood Realised Far Suddenly
It may be a cliche, but cliche or not, I fear the day when the only marsh harriers or peregrines I can look at are in paintings by Joseph Wolf or Bruno Liljefors - and no matter how beautiful those works may be, life is the great thing: life, life, life. John Burnside
Life Beautiful Day Great Fear Matter Wolf Those Marsh Only Joseph Look Great Thing Cliche How May Works Paintings Thing
When I was ten years old, my family left a cold, damp prefab in West Fife and moved to Corby, Northamptonshire, where my father quickly found work at what was then the Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks. John Burnside
Work Family Old Father Cold Damp Ten Ten Years West Years Left Quickly Moved Where Fife Then Found
I definitely don't see myself as an actor. I don't even have it on my passport. I've got 'writer and electrician' on my passport. I don't want anyone to think I'm an actor. John Gordon Sinclair
Myself Think Definitely See Writer Got Passport Want Anyone Electrician Even Actor
I think the problem I have is that first impressions are the ones that stick with people. And people's first impressions of me are obviously from the film, from 'Gregory's Girl.' John Gordon Sinclair
Me People Problem Girl First Think First Impressions Obviously Stick Impressions Film
I'm a big fan of Elmore Leonard, and I've read Ian Rankin, Christopher Brookmyre and so on. But I'd never read a crime novel that made me feel emotional at the end. John Gordon Sinclair
Me Crime Made Big Christopher Emotional Never Feel Read Big Fan End Fan Novel
If you try to be funny, you're not being funny. John Gordon Sinclair
Funny You Try Being Being Funny
Some of the best times I've ever had in my life have been because of acting and through acting. But I'm not interested in the game of acting and being an actor and auditioning and all that stuff. John Gordon Sinclair
Life Best Game My Life Some Through Had Stuff Because Auditioning Been Times Being Not Interested Interested Acting Actor Ever
Since being a wee boy, I've wanted to be on the pitch at Hampden. I don't know why. I love all the international games and such but I've never been that partisan. But I've always wanted to stand on that pitch. John Gordon Sinclair
Love Wee Never Since Know Partisan Boy Always Been Pitch Being Wanted Stand Games International Why
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