Art is not some inessential frippery - it is the nation's means of intelligently regarding itself. To cripple or stigmatize the arts is to doom one's nation to a life of incuriosity, dullness, literalness and the worst kind of rank materialism. George Saunders More Quotes by George Saunders More Quotes From George Saunders While writing this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], [idea of inclusion] occurred to me, you either believe in the Constitution or you don't. If you do, it's intense in what it wants of us. George Saunders writing believe book The contours of the coming disaster expanded to include the deaths of all present. George Saunders disaster Err in the direction of kindness. George Saunders collaboration kindness For me, the game would be to assume a very intelligent reader who can extrapolate a lot from a little. And that's become my definition of art; to get that pitch just right, where I can put a hint on page three, and the reader's ears go up a bit, as opposed to dropping it all on the first page. George Saunders intelligent games art The idea of inclusion has become kind of a stone that we've passed our hand over so many times that it doesn't mean anything. George Saunders mean hands ideas Intelligent, heartfelt stories that tell a whole new set of truths about growing up American. Julie Orringer writes with virtuosity and depth about the fears, cruelties, and humiliations of childhood, but then does that rarest, and more difficult, thing: writes equally beautifully about the moments of victory and transcendence. George Saunders growing-up intelligent writing When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn't see it. He can't. He's average and is surrounded by and immersed in the cant and discourse of the status quo. George Saunders guy average culture If you bring forth what is within you, it will save you. If you do not bring it forth, it will destroy you. George Saunders within-you ifs So I may not have had a gothic childhood, but childhood makes its own gothicity. George Saunders gothic childhood may What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy has a crazy notion different from your crazy notion, you pat him on the back and say, Hey pal, nice crazy notion, let's go have a beer. America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please, not just one droning glamorous reasonable voice. George Saunders crazy nice beer Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf - seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life. George Saunders medicine confusion advice As the writer of this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], what I loved was the feeling of having so many surprises come at the end that I hadn't really planned or planted. George Saunders surprise feelings book Monologue is the most honest way to represent human beings. George Saunders monologues honest way One of the revelations in that book [Lincoln in the Bardo] for me was this idea about citizenship. Even that word - citizenship - for someone my age, it makes me cringe. But, to me, the political space we're in now argues for a reboot of fairly simple ideas and the examination of the way that Americans have not been living into them. George Saunders simple book ideas Humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to. George Saunders used happens writing Life is short, very short, and what are we doing here if not trying to become more generous and loving? George Saunders life-is-short ifs trying It's a big world, and I really like it. George Saunders mecca bigs world I think if someone could demonstrate to me that fiction did no good, I would still do it, because I think it does good for me. George Saunders doe fiction thinking It seems to me a worthy goal: try to create a representation of consciousness that's durable and truthful, i.e., that accounts, somewhat, for all the strange, tiny, hard-to-articulate, instantaneous, unwilled things that actually go on in our minds in the course of a given day, or even a given moment. George Saunders goal mind trying I turned 54 this year and I find myself feeling like I'm in a bit of a race to get down on paper the way I really feel about life - or the way it has presented to me. And because it has presented to me very beautifully, this is hard. It is technically very hard to show positive manifestations. George Saunders race feelings years
