Quotessence
Home / Authors / Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter Quotes

Journalist

Filter quotes by topic

AllHumansPeopleIfsKnowsWorldWritingBelieveMenArtGiving

Famous Katherine Anne Porter Quotes

“And yet, we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness may be: it may result in ... tiresome acrobatics. ... Flashy effects distract the mind. They destroy their persuasiveness; you would not believe a man was very intent on ploughing a furrow if he carried a hoop with him and jumped through it at every other step. ... When virtuosity gets the upper hand of your theme, or is better than your idea, it is time to quit.”

IfsKnowsMenMindBelieveMayIdeasHandsResultsStepsKnow HowEffectsQuittingPursuitCraftsThemeTiresomeFlashyUpper HandVirtuosityPloughingAcrobatics
Author:Katherine Anne Porter
Create image

“You can't write about people out of textbooks, and you can't use jargon. You have to speak clearly and simply and purely in a language that a six-year-old child can understand; and yet have the meanings and the overtones of language, and the implications, that appeal to the highest intelligence.”

PeopleWritingYearsChildrenUseSpeakLanguageSixHighestAppealsImplicationsTextbooksJargonSix Year Olds
Book:Katherine Anne Porter: Conversations
Create image

“A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows it's a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself -- or at least, you show yourself as someone who could not afford to show himself, and so created something to hide behind. You do not create a style. You work, and develop yourself; your style is an emanation from your own being.”

KnowsShowsWould BeBehindsStyleMaskSooner Or LaterBehind You
Book:Katherine Anne Porter: Conversations
Create image