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The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

Book by Sylvia Plath · 8 quotes · Knows, Writing, People

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The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath Quotes

“With me, the present is forever, and forever is always shifting, flowing, melting. This second is life. And when it is gone it is dead. But you can't start over with each new second. You have to judge by what is dead. It's like quicksand...hopeless from the start. A story, a picture, can renew sensation a little, but not enough, not enough. Nothing is real except the present, and already, I feel the weight of centuries smothering me. Some girl a hundred years ago once lived as I do. And she is dead. I am the present, but I know I, too, will pass. The high moments, the burning flash, come and are gone, continuous quicksand. And I don't want to die.”

LifeAmbitionLivingYearningPresentMomentEpiphanyQuicksandTo LiveStagnancy
Book:The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
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“There are times when a feeling of expectancy comes to me, as if something is there, beneath the surface of my understanding, waiting for me to grasp it. It is the same tantalizing sensation when you almost remember a name, but don't quite reach it. I can feel it when I think of human beings, of the hints of evolution suggested by the removal of wisdom teeth, the narrowing of the jaw no longer needed to chew such roughage as it was accustomed to; the gradual disappearance of hair from the human body; the adjustment of the human eye to the fine print, the swift, colored motion of the twentieth century. The feeling comes, vague and nebulous, when I consider the prolonged adolesence of our species; the rites of birth, marriage and death; all the primitive, barbaric ceremonies streamlined to modern times. Almost, I think, the unreasoning, bestial purity was best. Oh, something is there, waiting for me. Perhaps someday the revelation will burst in upon me and I will see the other side of this monumental grotesque joke. And then I'll laugh. And then I'll know what life is.”

LifeUnderstandingRestlessness
Book:The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
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“With me, the present is forever and forever is always shifting, flowing, melting. This second is life. And when it is gone it is dead. But you can’t start over with each new second. You have to judge by what is dead. It’s like quicksand…hopeless from the start. A story, a picture, can renew sensation a little, but not enough, not enough. Nothing is real except the present, and already, I feel the weight of centuries smothering me. Some girl a hundred years ago lived as I do. And she is dead. I am the present, but I know I, too, will pass. The high moment, the burning flash, come and are gone, continuous quicksand. And I don’t want to die.”

Life
Book:The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
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“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

LifeInspirationalWritingSelfBeautifulArtistFearEnemyCreativityCreativeDoubtWrittenWorstSelf ConfidencePersistenceGutsBe CreativeCreative WritingWriting AdviceCreative PeopleGood WritersWriters And WritingWorst EnemySelf-doubtCreative ArtWriting By WritersGreat WritingImprovisingOutgoingCreative ArtistsCreative IdeasCreativenessArt And CreativityIdeas And CreativityStory WritingWriting StoriesInspire CreativityConfidence BoostingCreativity And WritingArtists And CreativityBoost Your ConfidenceFamous WritersStory WritersCreative WritersWriting From Famous AuthorsArtists And WritersWriting ShortShort WritingOvercoming Doubt
Book:The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
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