Even when the faith goes away, there's that space where you crave something bigger than yourself. For me, that's kind of where art came in, after that. George Saunders More Quotes by George Saunders More Quotes From George Saunders He was a father. That's what a father does.Eases the burdens of those he loves. Saves the ones he loves from painful last images that might endure for a lifetime. George Saunders fathers-day dad ease Even the written history [of Abraham Lincoln's times] is poorly understood by most people. George Saunders abraham understood people It's funny with fiction - once you cut something, it hasn't happened anymore. George Saunders happened cutting fiction The thing I've discovered that is a help is that there isn't a simple virtue or a simple vice. They're always connected. If you have Tendency A, that you loathe, you can almost be sure that Tendency B, which you love, is somehow connected to it. George Saunders vices simple love-is ...smile first, then speak. George Saunders speak firsts I watched a bunch of kids movies on Christmas. I was kind of joking with our family by asking, "Is anyone allowed to die in a kid's movie anymore?" George Saunders kind asking kids I was, not an altar boy, but a reader of the Epistle, and I walked in on a nun and a priest furiously French kissing when I was in seventh grade. I walked in, saw it, and went, "No way," backed out, composed myself, and went back in, and it was still going on. And the experience of seeing that was actually very deep. George Saunders kissing boys way I've had that situation where I start writing somebody really miserable, and in order to make the story come alive, I have to give them a vote of confidence, make him vulnerable or wounded. But in real life, you often meet people who, in that particular moment, actually shouldn't get a vote of confidence. George Saunders real writing order My understanding of kindness is that we are hoping to be truly beneficial in every situation, and that this desire means a whole suite of things: being nicer, sure, but also being more aware, more present, more articulate, more fearless, less habituated, etc., etc. And sometimes even being firm, or having an edge, or even being angry. George Saunders understanding kindness mean I've had that my whole career. People were always hedging around the question of: Why are you so dark? What happened to you? George Saunders careers dark people On one level, I am a total softie, sort of depressed and afraid of losing the people I love or failing them. To disguise that, there's all this harsh, poop-centric, external swagger, full of nastiness. I'm a cloaking device. George Saunders swagger levels people I would say one thing writing this book [Lincoln in the Bardo] did for me was underscore the fact that this issue [all men are created equal] has never been properly addressed and it hasn't gone away. George Saunders writing men book The writer, in order to proceed, is theoretically trying to predict where his complex skein of language and image has left his reader, who he has likely never met and who is actually thousands of readers. George Saunders language trying order Whatever happens when we die, it would be really weird if it was what we had expected. Even if you were a lifelong Christian believer, it would be kind of weird if there actually were pearly gates. George Saunders be-kind christian would-be With non-fiction writing I feel like I'm confined and driven by what actually happened. That makes the "plot". So it's a process of getting all of my notes typed up, then scanning through the notes, trying to extract or find certain vignettes that seem like they might write well - that might have a potential for good energy, shape, etc. And then at some point I start stringing these together, keeping an eye on the word count. George Saunders eye writing trying It's so ironic that you often hear these right-wing people talking about the Constitution. George Saunders wings talking people To me that really would be the essence of kindness, to have one's awareness so developed and refined that you could tell just what was needed, and not do any more or any less, and maybe not even be aware of what you had done, except it would be a helpful thing because of how fully present you were. Well, as Aerosmith once famously said: Dream on. George Saunders essence dream kindness I think kindness is a sort of gateway virtue - having that simple aspiration can get you into deep water very quickly - in a good way. George Saunders simple kindness thinking I think the wave of social media rejection is coming. I think there will be a big reaction against it. It's just like sugar- - mean, I loved it as a kid. George Saunders mean kids thinking I understand what something short should be like. I understand beauty in that form. If I start extending, somehow I kind of lose my bearings. George Saunders form kind should
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