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Quote by Stephen Dobyns

“I think I made a mistake with [Jane] Austen by reading all six in a row. There are similarities to the plots so by the time I got to the last one I could anticipate what was happening too easily. But her characterizations are amazing.”

Quote by Stephen Dobyns

Author

Stephen Dobyns is an American poet born on February 19, 1941. His poetry is known for its profound emotion and rich imagination, covering a wide range of themes including love, death, history, and religion. more

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“Other than fiction and poetry I tend to read history.”

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“I'm reading "The Sunset of a Splendid Century" by W.H. Lewis. He was C.S. Lewis's brother. He wrote two books about the French court of Louis XIV that are incredibly detailed. They are books that on every page you say, "Wow, think of that."”

Thinking Two Book Reading Century Brother Pages Court Sunset Wow Splendid

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“Wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues.”

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Book:The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784

Source: The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784

“Sometimes someone will tell me about an author I've never heard of before and that will send me to that person. That's how I discovered Thomas Bernhard, an Austrian novelist whose novels tend to be one long rant.”

Persons Long Sometimes Novel Heard Novelists Rant

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“I'm reading a manuscript by Rodney Jones, "Village Prodigies",it's one of the best contemporary poetry books I've ever read ever.”

Book Reading Contemporary Village Manuscripts Prodigies

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“There's a Welsh poet, R.S. Thomas. He was a very crotchety, strange man, but his poems are wonderful. He was nominated for the Nobel in the 1990s but never won.”

Men Wonderful Strange Poet Nobel Welsh Strange Man

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“I had a period when I read Nobel Prize winners. I figured they had to be good. I discovered some people I didn't know about, like the Icelandic writer Halldor Laxness, who wrote "Independent People." .”

People Knows Periods Independent Be Good Winner Prize Nobel Nobel Prize Nobel Prize Winners

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“Louise Gluck, C.K. Williams, Thomas Lux. A lot of the poets that I like are the ones that influenced me as a writer.”

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's "Ariel" came out it knocked me off my feet.”

Remember Feet Philip Ariel Plath

Author:Stephen Dobyns

“I feel nervous because I revere [Zadie Smith] so much. I don't want to be stupid. If I say something stupid, just interrupt me.”

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Author:George Saunders