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"22 John Gardner Quotes & Sayings

      American     /     View profile
Born: 21 July 1933. Died: 14 September 1982 | Novelist | Essayist |

There is no limit to desire but desire's needs

Limit Desire Needs
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The writer is more servant than master of his story.

Writer Servant Master Story
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Only very odd people don’t realize that truth-telling is always a relative value.

People Truth Value
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Where religious values might be relative, intellectual values fleeting, moral values ambiguous, and aesthetic values dependent upon an observer, the existence of any thing is infinite.

Religious Values Moral Infinite
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The best way in the world for breaking up a writer's block is to write a lot.

Way World Writer's block
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Fate often enough will spare a man if his courage holds

Fate Spare Man Courage
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Bad art is always basically creepy; that is its first and most obvious identifying sign

Art Creepy First Sign
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What art ought to do is tell stories which are moment-by-moment wonderful, which are true to human experience, and which in no way explain human experience.

Art Stories Moment Human experience
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Mastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like weather.

Mastery Instant Power Time
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Art, of course, is a way of thinking, a way of mining reality.
Art Way Thinking Reality
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The primary subject of fiction is and has always been human emotion, values, and beliefs.

Subject Fiction Emotion Beliefs
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Self pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.

Self pity Addictive Pleasure Reality
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We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words on a page; we begin to see images.

Read Novel Page Images
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Nothing can be more limiting to the imagination than only writing about what you know

Limiting Imagination Writing Know
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So childhood too feels good at first, before one happens to notice the terrible sameness, age after age

Childhood Feels Happens Age
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I cannot believe such monstrous energy of grief can lead to nothing!

Believe Energy Grief Lead
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Our noblest hopes grow teeth and pursue us like tigers

Noblest Hopes Grow Pursue
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One has to be just a little crazy to write a great novel

Crazy Write Great novel
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Not everyone is capable of writing junk fiction: It requires an authentic junk mind.

Capable Writing Fiction Mind
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When people are serving, life is no longer meaningless.

People Serving Life Meaningless
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When I was a child I truly loved: Unthinking love as calm and deep As the North Sea. But I have lived, And now I do not sleep.

Child Love Calm Lived
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Great things happen nationally when topmost leadership is goaded and supported from below.

Great Nationally Leadership Supported
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John Gardner Quotes & Sayings