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W. G. Sebald

W. G. Sebald Quotes

Writer

W. G. Sebald (May 18, 1944 – December 14, 2001) was a German writer whose distinctive style combined elements of fiction, memoir, and travel writing. His works frequently explore themes of history, memory, and the impact of the past on the present. Sebald's writing is characterized by its introspective tone, richly detailed descriptions, and a sense of melancholy.

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All Ifs Mind Stills Knows Memories Eye Form Seems Thinking Believe Cities Civilization Found Giving Hours Mean Oblivion Past Reality Said

Famous W. G. Sebald Quotes

“One has the impression that something is stirring inside [photographs] - it is as if one can hear little cries of despair, gémissements de désespoir... as if the photographs themselves had a memory and were remembering us and how we, the surviving, and those who preceded us, once were.”

Ifs Littles Remember Memories Cry Despair Photograph Impression Surviving Stirring

Author:W. G. Sebald

“In my photographic work I was always especially entranced... by the moment when the shadows of reality, so to speak, emerge out of nothing on the exposed paper, as memories do in the middle of the night, darkening again if you try to cling to them.”

Ifs Trying Moments Reality Night Speak Memories Middle Paper Shadow Exposed Middle Of The Night Darkening

Book:Austerlitz

Source: Austerlitz

“...the darkness does not lift but becomes yet heavier as I think how little we can hold in mind, how everything is constantly lapsing into oblivion with every extinguished life, how the world is, as it were, draining itself, in that the history of countless places and objects which themselves have no power or memory is never heard, never described or passed on.”

Thinking World Mind Littles Doe Memories Darkness Heard Objects Lifts Oblivion Draining

Book:Austerlitz

Source: Austerlitz

“The moral backbone of literature is about that whole question of memory. To my mind it seems clear that those who have no memory have the much greater chance to lead happy lives.”

Mind Whole Seems Literature Memories Chance Moral Clear Greater Happy Life Backbone No Memory

Author:W. G. Sebald

“At the time I could no more believe my eyes than now I can trust my memory.”

Believe I Can Eye Memories

Author:W. G. Sebald

About the Author

Born: May 18, 1944
Died: December 14, 2001
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 48

Related Topics

Ifs Mind Stills Knows Memories Eye Form Seems Thinking Believe Cities Civilization Found Giving Hours Mean Oblivion Past Reality Said

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Rings of SaturnRelated source material

AusterlitzRelated source material

VertigoRelated source material

The EmigrantsRelated source material

The Emergence of Memory: Conversations with W.G. SebaldRelated source material

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