“Many people believe letters the most personal and revealing form of communication. In them, we expect to find the charmer at his nap, slumped, open-mouthed, profoundly himself without thought for appearances. Yet, this is not quite true. Letters are above all useful as a means of expressing the ideal self; and no other method of communication is quite so good for this purpose. In conversation, those uneasy eyes upon you, those lips ready with an emendation before you have begun to speak, are a powerful deterrent to unreality, even to hope.” PeopleBelieveMeanSelfEyeFormPurposeSpeakPowerfulReadyCommunicationConversationSpeechIdealsLettersMethodLipsAppearanceRevealingNapsUneasyUnrealityDeterrentCharmers Book:The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick Source: The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick
“Here in the city the worst thing that can happen to a nation has happened: we are a people afraid of its youth.” PeopleHappensNationsCitiesHappenedWorstYouthWorst Things Book:Bartleby in Manhattan, and Other Essays Source: Bartleby in Manhattan, and Other Essays
“Mothers born on relief have their babies on relief. Nothingness, truly, seems to be the condition of these New York people. They are nomads going from one rooming house to another, looking for a toilet that functions.” PeopleSeemsMotherHouseBornConditionsNew YorkBabyFunctionWelfareReliefNothingnessToiletsNomad Book:The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick Source: The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick
