In my own little way, I feel like I'm part of a group of writers who care deeply about pushing the essay forward. David Shields More Quotes by David Shields More Quotes From David Shields Anything processed by memory is fiction. David Shields memories fiction Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data. David Shields data writing believe A book should either allow us to escape existence or teach us how to endure it. David Shields existence should book I don’t know what’s the matter with me, why I’m so adept at distance, why I feel so remote from things, why life feels like a rumor. David Shields rumor distance matter Thomas Jefferson went through the New Testament and removed all the miracles, leaving only the teachings. Take a source, extract what appeals to you, discard the rest. Such an act of editorship is bound to reflect something of the individual doing the editing: a plaster cast of an aesthetic-not the actual thing, but the imprint of it. David Shields miracle teaching editing The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things. David Shields plot rooms thinking If I'm reading a book and it seems truly interesting, I tend to start reading back to front in order not to be too deeply under the sway of progress. David Shields reading order book Nonfiction, qua label, is nothing more or less than a very flexible (easily breakable) frame that allows you to pull the thing away from narrative and toward contemplation, which is all I've ever wanted. David Shields nonfiction labels narrative To me, the moment you're talking about nonfiction you're talking about reality. David Shields nonfiction talking reality Our culture is obsessed with real events because we experience hardly any. David Shields events real culture My medium is prose, not the novel. David Shields prose mediums novel With relatively few exceptions, the novel sacrifices too much, for me, on the altar of plot. David Shields sacrifice plot too-much Momentum, in literary mosaic, derives not from narrative but from the subtle, progressive buildup of thematic resonances. David Shields mosaics momentum narrative Genre is a minimum security prison. David Shields genre-is minimum prison Resolution and conclusion are inherent in a plot-driven narrative. David Shields resolution narrative plot I'm not interested in collage as the refuge of the composition-ally disabled. I'm interested in collage as (to be honest) an evolution beyond narrative. David Shields allies honest narrative The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps. David Shields scrap novel long I take literature as a really serious human activity. It's not just a playful thing. It can be hilarious and wonderful and performative, but I think it's really serious. David Shields serious literature thinking The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as art". David Shields poetry reality art I'm wonderfully self-lacerating, probably to my character's detriment. I'm terribly open to critique. David Shields critique self character
