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Quote by Samuel Beckett

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Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, and poet, widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. His works are characterized by their minimalist style, existential themes, and use of language. His most famous works include 'Waiting for Godot' and 'Molloy'. Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969. more

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“Writing, for me, has to do with liberty of mind. The liberty to intuit, assess, be surprised, even to be ashamed and reconsider. To feel the integrity and generosity of words, but also their disruptive violence and volatility. To even begin to do them justice requires a radical letting go and stringent attention. I was interested in following that impulse toward liberty.”

“Images work on so many different levels. As a writer you feel them, try not to get in their way or narrow them down to anything other or less complex. A writer is a curator of sorts - once you've brought the images together you try to stand at a respectful distance and let them speak for themselves. Try not to mess with their ambiguities and contradictions. They are what they are, irreducible. This is their integrity.”

“We forget the conditions - not only in slavery - but after slavery, when there was this purposeful locking out of African Americans from economic opportunity. Or we forget today's incarceration rates, and educational and housing discrimination; all of these things. We pretend that everything that has happened happened long ago, and then we act as if we all now just treat each other equally, everything will be fine.”