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Quote by Jane Smiley

“In many ways, being honest about 'Huckleberry Finn' goes right to the heart of whether we can be honest about our heritage and our identity as Americans.”

Quote by Jane Smiley

Author

Jane Smiley is an accomplished American novelist known for her profound character development and rich imagination. Her works span a variety of literary genres, including historical fiction, contemporary life, and children's literature. Her novels, such as 'A Thousand Acres' and 'Bluebird', have received widespread acclaim. more

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“In the traditional urban novel, there is only survival or not. The suburban idea, the conformist idea, that agony can be seen to and cured by doctors or psychoanalysis or self-knowledge is nowhere to be found in the city. Talking is a way of life, but it is not a cure. Same with religion.”

Way Ideas Self Found Cities Talking Novel Survival Doctors Traditional Cures Agony Self Knowledge Urban Psychoanalysis Conformist

Author:Jane Smiley

“Most of my childhood revolved around wondering when we would be blown up by the Russians. I couldn't stand the news, I knew that if the missile were launched, mortality would arrive in half an hour, so I spent a lot of my childhood feeling that I was 30 minutes from being dead.”

Ifs Feelings Would Be Hours Half Wonder Childhood Minutes News Mortality Missiles

Author:Jane Smiley

“Novelists of a conservative or more purely aesthetic bent hold up better on the surface, but their novels go in and out of fashion according to relevance or irrelevance.”

Novel Fashion Conservative Surface Novelists Aesthetic Bent Relevance Irrelevance

Book:13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

Source: 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

“Some novelists are luckier than others in the eras of their formative intellectual years, but all Weltanschauungs return, which means that most novelists have at least a chance of a revival.”

Years Mean Chance Return Intellectual Eras Novelists Revival

Book:13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

Source: 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel

“When 'The Awakening' was published it was considered so scandalous it was banned in the author's home-town library, and she herself was barred from the Fine Arts Club in the same city. What the novel has to offer, among other things, is honesty.”

Art Home Cities Novel Honesty Fine Offers Towns Library Clubs Awakening Fine Arts Banned Scandalous Home Town

Author:Jane Smiley

“Why are we reading a Shakespeare play or 'Huckleberry Finn?' Well, because these works are great, but they also tell us something about the times in which they were created. Unfortunately, previous eras and dead authors often used language or accepted as normal sentiments that we now find unacceptable.”

Wells Play Used Reading Language Normal Accepted Eras Sentiments Huckleberry Shakespeare Play

Author:Jane Smiley

“We give you the facts. I told you information is power - knowledge is power. We can't be in an ideological battle to redeem the soul of this country if we don't have the facts.”

Ifs Giving Soul Country Facts Information Battle Ideological Knowledge Is Power Information Is Power

Author:Tavis Smiley

“The storm came. Lives were washed away. Ancient pains resurfaced. Now it is time for a sea of change.”

Pain Sea Ancient Storm Storms Coming

Author:Tavis Smiley

“This administration and these folk who run Washington are no more interested in our welfare and our well being than the man on the moon. And we have got to start taking our destiny into our hands.”

Men Wells Hands Running Destiny Moon Folks Administration Well Being Welfare Our Destiny

Author:Tavis Smiley

“I believe that love and laughter can only happen when one person takes the time to think about what would cause the other person to feel good.”

Thinking Feels Believe Persons Happens Happiness Joy I Believe Causes Laughter Feel Good Time To Think Love And Laughter

Author:Yakov Smirnoff