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Phillip Lopate

Phillip Lopate Books

Film critic

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“I imagined a psychic pain growing inside him (myself) that demanded some physical outlet. Suicide must have been his attempt to give Pain a body, a representation, to put it outside himself. A need to convert inner torment into some outward tangible wound that all could see. It was almost as though suicide were a last-ditch effort at exorcism, in which the person sacrificed his life in order that the devil inside might die.”

NeedsGivingPersonsHas BeensBodyMightPainLastsOrderDiesEffortGrowingDevilSuicideWoundsRepresentationPsychicsTormentSuicidalOutletsTangibleExorcism
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“Doubt is my boon companion, the faithful St. Bernard ever at my side. Whether writing essays or just going about daily life, I am constantly second-guessing myself. My mind is filled with 'yes, buts,' 'so whats?' and other skeptical rejoinders. I am forever monitoring myself for traces of folly, insensitivity, arrogance, false humility, cruelty, stupidity, immaturity and, guess what, I keep finding examples. Age has not made me wiser, except maybe in retrospect.”

WritingMindMadeAgeSidesForeverDoubtExampleHumilityFindingsFilledStupidityCrueltyFaithfulArroganceFollyDaily LifeCompanionWiserEssaysSkepticalRetrospectGuessingImmaturityBoonMonitoringInsensitivitySecond GuessingFalse HumilityWriting Essays
Author:Phillip Lopate
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