My first novel, In the Drift, was published in the Ace Specials line, along with something called Neuromancer by William Gibson. My main goal when I was writing my book was to actually complete a novel. Bill’s was to rewrite the syntax of science fiction. We both succeeded. But because he was aiming slightly higher than I was, his accomplishment was the greater.
I’ve never since made the mistake of having realistic ambitions.
— Michael Swanwick, Interview in The Seventh Week
¶
Highlighted by jeb
-
Of the seven native-born Americans awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature five were alcoholics: Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O’Neill, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck.
— Joan Acocella, Blocked
¶
Highlighted by jeb
-
John Gotti was conceivably cited more often in hip-hop lyrics than any other human being, and not just because his name helpfully rhymes with body, karate, Bacardi, Maserati, and Illuminati.
— Luc Sante, Kill All Your Darlings. 54.
¶
Highlighted by jeb
-
New Jersey, an old state with many fascinating historical byways and a considerable fund of lore and legend, is the image of the future, assuming that the future is assigned a value of perhaps fifteen minutes.
— Luc Sante, Kill All Your Darlings. 64.
¶
Highlighted by jeb and ry
-
I don’t really go on the internet, it’s like a ouija board, it’s like letting someone into your head, behind your eyes. It lets randoms in.
— Burial, Wire interview
¶
Highlighted by jeb, ry, and neatist
-
oh my freaking jesus - that show at the Tabernacle last night was amazing im only 12 - and it was the best concert of my life
— ♥ OMG - dont ya just love me ????!!! ♥ , Friendimonial on Ween's MySpace
¶
Highlighted by jeb
-
She, too, was rather small in the shoulders. Men were probably startled when they embraced her.
— Yasunari Kawabata, Palm-of-the-Hand Stories. 27.
¶
Highlighted by ry and jeb
-
When you take a picture with an S.L.R., there is a distinctive sound, somewhere between a clatter and a thump; I worship my beat-up Nikon FE, but there is no denying that every snap reminds me of a cow kicking over a milk pail. With a Leica, all you hear is the shutter, which is the quietest on the market. The result—and this may be the most seductive reason for the Leica cult—is that a photograph sounds like a kiss.
— Anthony Lane, A Critic at Large: Candid Camera (New Yorker)
¶
Highlighted by ry, jeb, and chrisk
-
New Jersey is, in many respects, America’s urban future. It is the first state in the Union to be more densely populated than Japan. It is also the first state in the Union to be more urban.
— Joel Garreau, Edge City. 24.
¶
Highlighted by jeb
Find more quotes from this author or from this source.