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Paul Goodman Quotes

Novelist

Paul Goodman was an American novelist born on September 9, 1911, and died on August 2, 1972. His works are known for their deep psychological insights and critical reflections on social issues.

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Famous Paul Goodman Quotes

“It takes application, a fine sense of value, and a powerful community-spirit for a people to have serious leisure, and this has not been the genius of the Americans.”

People Spirit Values Community Powerful Serious Fine Genius Application Leisure Community Spirit

Book:Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

Source: Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

“When a village ceases to be a community, it becomes oppressive in its narrow conformity. So one becomes an individual and migrates to the city. There, finding others like-minded, one re-establishes a village community. Nowadays only New Yorkers are yokels.”

Individual Community Cities Findings Cease Village Conformity New Yorkers Migrate

Book:Five years

Source: Five years

“A successful revolution establishes a new community. A missed revolution makes irrelevant the community that persists. And a compromised revolution tends to shatter the community that was, without an adequate substitute.”

Community Successful Revolution Substitutes Persist Irrelevant Adequate

Book:Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

Source: Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

“When we choose a man to beautify our towns, we do not automatically call on the major artists of the world. ... We now lavishly praise Frank Lloyd Wright, but we never made any community use of him, though he longed for the chance.”

Men World Made Use Artist Community Chance Majors Towns Praise Frank Our Town

Author:Paul Goodman

“Humankind is innocent, loving, and creative, you dig? It's the bureaucracies that create the evil, that make Honor and Community impossible, and it's the kids who really take it in the groin.”

Kids Evil Community Creative Impossible Honor Innocent Humankind Bureaucracy

Author:Paul Goodman

“It then becomes necessary to stop short and make a choice: Either/Or. Either one drifts with their absurd system of ideas, believing that this is the human community. Or one dissents totally from their system of ideas and stands as a lonely human being. (But luckily one notices that the others are in the same crisis and making the same choices.)”

Believe Humans Ideas Choices Community Human Beings Lonely Crisis Absurd Dissent Either Or

Book:Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

Source: Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized Society

About the Author

Born: September 9, 1911
Died: August 2, 1972
Known for: Novelist
Quotes: 72

Books & Sources

Growing Up Absurd: Problems of Youth in the Organized SocietyRelated source material

Five yearsRelated source material

The Community of Scholars, 1962Related source material

Creator Spirit Come!: The Literary Essays of Paul GoodmanRelated source material

Like a conquered province: the moral ambiguity of AmericaRelated source material

Nature HealsRelated source material

People or personnel: decentralizing and the mixed systems ; and, Like a conquered province : the moral ambiguity of AmericaRelated source material

Speaking and language: defence of poetryRelated source material

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