401 Literary Quotes for You to Enjoy

There are all kinds of under-represented groups in the literary establishment. Janette Turner Hospital

Kinds Establishment Literary Groups

I feel that there's a lot of would-be guardians of the culture who think that high-minded literary purpose and the life that gets chronicled in the gossip columns, that these two things are incompatible. Jay McInerney

Life Culture Gossip Think Guardians Would-Be Purpose Columns Feel Lot Gets Literary Who Incompatible Things Two

I certainly think that the publishing houses have to learn more about this informal network of literary blogging and get over the idea that sending an author on a book tour - to Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles - is a successful model anymore. Jay McInerney

Book Think Book Tour Angeles About More Network Tour Idea Over Learn Houses Houston Los Los Angeles Blogging Author Model Get Sending Anymore Literary Informal Successful Certainly Publishing Dallas

I don't think I found my voice until I reached New York. I suppose it's possible I would have had some kind of different literary career if I had not discovered New York. Jay McInerney

Think Possible Kind Would Some Voice Had New Suppose Reached Until Discovered York New York Different Literary Found Career

Many of Judy Blume's books - which I devoured when I was growing up and where I found characters that were believable because they were a lot like me - caused considerable consternation when they were first published, but now they're widely accepted as an essential part of the children's literary canon. Jeff Kinney

Me First Considerable Books Characters Consternation Part Like Devoured Because Accepted Judy Caused Were Lot Up Essential Essential Part Where Children Literary Canon Which Many Growing Believable Growing Up Found Now Published Widely

If there is any message in the 'Wimpy Kid' books, it is that reading can be and should be fun. As an adult reader, when I see an obvious moral lesson to be taught, I run in the other direction... Kids can sniff out an adult agenda from an early age. I'm writing for entertainment, not to impress literary judges. Jeff Kinney

Entertainment Age Writing Reading Impress Lesson Other Books Kid Kids Out Run Moral See Direction Adult Message Obvious Reader Judges Sniff Any Taught Literary Agenda Should Fun Early Early Age

Jacques Derrida is a very important thinker and philosopher who has made serious contributions to both philosophy and literary criticism. Roland Barthes is the one I feel most affinity for, and Michel Foucault, well, his writing influenced my novel, 'Middlesex.' Jeffrey Eugenides

I think literary theory satisfied a deep love I have for big, encompassing narratives about the world and how it works - which are usually, in the end, more creative visions unto themselves than illuminating explanations. Jennifer Egan

Love Creative World Big Satisfied Think Visions About More Unto Narratives How Encompassing End Than Literary In The End Which Explanations Themselves Theory Deep Works Deep Love Illuminating

I think playing the glamour card is a disastrous error as a literary writer. Jennifer Egan

Think Writer Glamour Disastrous Error Literary Card Playing

I don't write literary fiction - I write books that are entertaining, but are also, I hope, well-constructed and thoughtful and funny and have things to say about men and women and families and children and life in America today. Jennifer Weiner

White writers in many cases choose not to populate their fiction with people of color. A lot of what I'm doing is trying to write against that, not about race but against the avoidance of race that's such a dominant model in white literary discourse. Jess Row

I think suspense should be like any other color on a writer's palette. I suppose I'm in the minority but I think it's crazy for 'literary fiction' to divorce itself from stories that are suspenseful, and assign anything with cops or spies or criminals to some genre ghetto. Jess Walter

Crazy Minority Think Other Criminals Ghetto Spies Some Color Writer Divorce Suppose Like Genre Itself Any Suspense Suspenseful Fiction Literary Stories Anything Literary Fiction Should Assign Palette Cops

Let's get right to it: On page 5 of Paul Murray's dazzling new novel, 'Skippy Dies,'... Skippy dies. If killing your protagonist with more than 600 pages to go sounds audacious, it's nothing compared with the literary feats Murray pulls off in this hilarious, moving and wise book. Jess Walter

Wise Book Hilarious Nothing More Feats New Dazzling Protagonist Audacious Sounds Go Off Than Get Dies Literary Moving Paul Page Pages Your Novel Compared Right

I'm not that well-versed in literary theory - I don't know what it is. Jim Crace

Know Literary Theory

Sometimes literary critics review the book they wanted you to write, not the book you wrote, and that's very irksome. Jim Harrison

You Book Sometimes Critics Write Wrote Review Very Wanted Literary

Many Scandinavian writers who had made their name in literary fiction felt they wanted to have a go at the crime novel to show they could compete with the best. If Salman Rushdie had been Norwegian, he would definitely have written at least one thriller. Jo Nesbo

Best Crime Made Definitely At Least One Scandinavian Would Thriller Could Writers Had He Written Name Felt Least Go Been Norwegian Fiction Wanted Literary Literary Fiction Show Who Many Novel Compete

Complex literary works demand an effort from the reader that is becoming harder to justify, given the sink-or-swim pressures to make profitable products for a global marketplace. Joanna Scott

Marketplace Complex Pressures Given Demand Global Make Reader Becoming Effort Literary Justify Products Works Harder Profitable

In the old days of literature, only the very thick-skinned - or the very brilliant - dared enter the arena of literary criticism. To criticise a person's work required equal measures of erudition and wit, and inferior critics were often the butt of satire and ridicule. Joanne Harris

Work Satire Old Brilliant Criticism Enter Dared Criticise Critics Only Arena Days Wit Equal Were Erudition Very Inferior Person Often Literary Literary Criticism Literature Old Days Required Measures Ridicule Butt

I'm a child of the literary bent. I don't want to see 140 characters. I want to see a story. Joanne Kelly

Bent Characters See Child Want Literary Story

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