48 Will Self Quotes for You to Enjoy

Will Self

English Author

Born: Sep 26, 1961

Life Me People Think Work You

Related authors: A. A. Milne H. G. Wells J. K. Rowling Lewis Carroll Mary Shelley Samuel Johnson Simon Sinek Terry Pratchett

I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their lowest common denominator. In terms of evolutionary psychology, the crowd is very close to a herd of stampeding wildebeest. Will Self

A short story is a shard, a sliver, a vignette. It's a biopsy on the human condition but it doesn't have this capacity to think autonomously for itself. Will Self

Think Sliver Condition Itself Human Short Short Story Human Condition Story Capacity

Life, it is true, can be grasped in all its confused futility merely by opening one's eyes and sitting passively, a spectator on the stands of history - but to understand the social processes and conflicts, the interplay between individual and group, even the physicality of human experience, we have need of small-scale models. Will Self

Life History Eyes Experience Confused Group Futility Physicality Individual True Merely Between Opening Understand Passively Models Sitting Human Conflicts Processes Social Human Experience Stands Grasped Even Spectator Need

Sometimes, when I hear people without experience of addiction blame addicts for their behaviour, I feel like saying to them: 'You simply don't understand - how can a child be held responsible for doing such a dreadful thing to himself?' But then again, at other times I have to acknowledge: it was done wilfully. Will Self

Saying You Blame Experience People Sometimes Other Addict Addiction Dreadful Responsible Simply Feel Like Himself Without Understand How Doing Hear Hear People Times Child Behaviour Done Acknowledge Again Them Then Held Thing

Death, the real simile for disease - for when we are ill, do we not always feel like we are dying, even if it's only a little? - remains, despite our secularism, the most metaphoricised phenomenon of all. Will Self

Death Despite Our Secularism Only Remains Feel Like Most Always Real Disease Dying Little Ill Even Phenomenon

When anyone starts out to do something creative - especially if it seems a little unusual - they seek approval, often from those least inclined to give it. But a creative life cannot be sustained by approval, any more than it can be destroyed by criticism - you learn this as you go on. Will Self

Life You Creative Criticism Starts Approval Those Destroyed Out Seek Give Seems Something More Learn Unusual Least Go Than Any Often Anyone Sustained Cannot Little Creative Life Inclined

You don't need to know this - but here goes: due to some acquired infantilism, I feel compelled to fall asleep listening to the radio. On a good night, I'll push the frail barque of my psyche off into the waters of Lethe accompanied by the midnight newsreader - on a bad one, it's the shipping forecast. Will Self

Good You Good Night Listening Fall Waters Frail Bad Some Bad One Push Feel Know Forecast Due Accompanied Off Shipping Goes Psyche Midnight Acquired Asleep Radio Compelled Here Night Need

The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement - if you can't deal with this, you needn't apply. Will Self

Life You Writing Solitary Solitary Confinement Deal Essentially Confinement Apply

One of the most heartening phenomena in today's Britain is the great diversity of the modern nerd - the nerd is out and proud, and while she may love 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' merchandise more than is strictly warranted, she is in every way to be cherished as an exemplar of cosmopolitanism and tolerance. Will Self

Love Today Great Diversity Tolerance Every Strictly Way Out Vampire Nerd More Merchandise Most She Buffy Proud Cherished Than Modern May While Phenomena Britain Slayer

I write because I feel driven to write. I write from a sense of inner necessity. I don't write for anything other than that. Will Self

Sense Other Write Driven Feel Because Than Anything Inner Necessity

This is the paradox for me: in failure alone is there any possibility of success. I don't think I'm alone in this - nor do I think it's an attitude that only prevails among people whose work is obviously 'creative'. Will Self

Success Work Attitude Alone Me Failure Creative People Think Possibility Paradox Prevails Only Obviously Nor Any Whose Among

As a bookish adolescent, I sopped up texts as if I were blotting paper and they were fluid. Will Self

Fluid Paper Adolescent Were Up Texts Blotting

Who'd want to be a modernist writer in the English-speaking world? Will Self

World Writer Want Modernist English-Speaking

That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with training for increased productivity, only makes academe a still more promising environment for a contrarian. Will Self

Education Training Political Increased Promising Seems More Only Environment Makes Still Often Sustained Social Social Consensus Productivity Assault Consensus

Without a shadow of doubt, Trafalgar Square has to be one of the most crap urban public spaces in the world. Will Self

World Doubt Shadow Most Without Square Crap Spaces Urban Public

From time to time, as if heaven-sent to annoy, someone will ask me if I'm self-disciplined when it comes to my work. I usually look witheringly at them and snarl, 'What do you think?' I mean, how do you imagine anyone writes a quarter of a million words a year for publication? Will Self

Sometimes it occurs to me that the job of a serious cultural critic mostly consists in telling the generality of people that their opinions - on films, on books, on all manner of widgets, gadgets and even the latest electronic fidgets - simply aren't up to scratch. Will Self

Me People Gadgets Sometimes Job Films Books Latest Consists Critic Telling Generality Simply Mostly Opinions Occurs Cultural Up Scratch Manner Electronic Even Serious

As the render is to the building, and the blueprint to the machine, so sport is to social existence. Will Self

Building Machine Render Sport Existence Blueprint Social

It is fair to say that insofar as sport is taken seriously by those who play it, then to that extent their conduct in play - their ability to deal with loss or victory, their ability to meld strategic thinking and brute force - can be taken as a small-scale model of how they, or others like them, might behave in life. Will Self

Life Victory Seriously Thinking Others Say Those Ability Insofar Brute Brute Force Taken Fair Like Sport Force Deal How Loss Conduct Model Behave Them Might Then Who Strategic Play Extent

I am a regular, if not exactly enthusiastic, patron of my local bookshop. I try to buy at least some books there because I cling to the belief that it's important to maintain those businesses which put a human face on the exchange of money for goods and services. Will Self

Buy Money Try Face Important Local Books Those Exactly Enthusiastic Some Exchange Put Maintain Goods Because Am Least Cling Human Patron Which Human Face Regular Businesses Belief Services

I always wanted to write fiction. Always. As far back as I can remember it's been integral to my sense of myself - everything else was always a displacement activity. Will Self

Myself Remember Sense Else Back Everything Everything Else Write Always Integral Been Fiction Wanted Far Displacement Activity

Will Self Quotes

No more Will Self quotes