Quote: Salman Rushdie
·76 words·1 min
Quotes
writing
culture
storytelling
humanism
literature
Man is the animal that tells stories about himself to himself.
— Salman Rushdie, Lecture at the University of Iowa (March 2004)
It’s been years since I sat in that lecture hall, but Rushdie’s description of humans as storytelling creatures still gets me with it’s perfect simplicity. I think that was the first time I heard someone express this notion so clearly. I wrote this quote in my journal that night, and I revisit it often.
Related
Quote: Umberto Eco on Heroes
·25 words·1 min
Quotes
writing
literature
heroes
The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.
— Umberto Eco, Travels in Hyperreality
Quote: Kelly Sue DeConnick on Feminism in Her Writing
·71 words·1 min
Quotes
feminism
culture
writing
I don’t actually set out to write political pamphlets. I’m always writing story first, and even before that I’m always writing character first – everything is born of character. But I think that I have some very strong feelings about some things; in particular, ideas of fairness and justice.
Quote: Antoine de Saint Exupéry
·68 words·1 min
Quotes
culture
philosophy
sociology
business
management
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.