“It is terribly important to maintain a national identity in a way that it probably wasn't before.” Quote by Robert Dessaix
“I want to write the sort the book that my people want to read, even if the market is small.” PeopleIfsWantWritingBook Author:Robert Dessaix
“I think that in this globalised world, the local is going to become more and more important - it is a paradox. You see it in Western Europe more and more. Eastern Europe is still coming out of the Soviet uniform cultural era, but this kind of separation and nationalism is very obvious now in Western Europe.” ThinkingWorldKindStillsImportantEuropeWesternObviousSeparationLocalsErasNationalismParadoxComing OutSovietUniformsEasternEastern EuropeWestern Europe Author:Robert Dessaix
“I think it is an important question of our lives - what is the meaning of literature to us as humans.” ThinkingHumansImportantLiteratureOur LivesImportant QuestionsWhat Is The Meaning Author:Robert Dessaix
“Despite the war, and bombings, and all the big things that happen to us, the stuff of our lives is small and always will be. During a war it is different, but even then, it is perfectly possible to write novels during a major war, which are about those thing which endure. It is what makes us human and the thing which is going to keep going.” WritingHumansDifferentWarBigsHappensLife IsStuffNovelOur LivesMajorsEndureDespiteKeep GoingBig ThingsBombing Author:Robert Dessaix
“Those are the two things: a sense of loving and being loved, and being creative - that is what life is made up of, and what literature reminds us of.” MadeTwoLife IsLiteratureCreativeTwo ThingsBe CreativeBeing Loved Author:Robert Dessaix
“The Odyssey and Iliad say things about the human condition in ways we should re-acquaint ourselves with, and use as a prism to interpret though.” WayShouldHumansUseConditionsHuman ConditionOdysseyPrismsIliad Author:Robert Dessaix
“When I re-read the Odyssey, it felt like I was reading PD James or Minette Walters - you feel that you are sharing in something that hundreds of millions of people have read with love, and I think that this is worth holding onto. It is not a matter of canonical texts or elitism, which the universities are trying to make us wary about. It is about shared language and metaphor and experience and imagery and that is all good.” PeopleThinkingFeelsTryingMatterReadingLanguageFeltMillionsUniversityMetaphorImageryHolding OnElitismOdyssey Author:Robert Dessaix
“A form of art that I like is portraiture. I've been thinking about portraiture, and its relationship to writing and literature, biography and autobiography, and so that will be my next thing.” ThinkingWritingArtFormNextLiteratureAutobiographyBiographiesPortraiture Author:Robert Dessaix
“I don't write quickly or a lot. Well actually I write quickly, but I don't have a store of things. I will wait for that erotic moment - like the one which struck me when someone said "have you ever heard of Kester Berwick?"” WritingWellsSaidMomentsWaitingHeardStoresErotic Author:Robert Dessaix
“One of the unfortunate things about creative writing courses is that they make people impatient. People feel that they have prepared themselves and that they must now do it. In fact there are positive incentives for doing so - universities are offering degrees for writing novels.” PeopleFeelsWritingFactsCoursesNovelCreativeDegreesPreparedUniversityOfferingUnfortunateCreative WritingIncentivesImpatientUnfortunate Things Author:Robert Dessaix