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Quote by Joan Didion

“New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself. To think of 'living' there was to reduce the miraculous to the mundane; one does not 'live' at Xanadu.”

Quote by Joan Didion

Author

Joan Didion is an American author born on December 5, 1934. Known for her distinctive narrative style and profound insights into modern life, her works have gained recognition for their unique perspective and deep understanding of the complexities of contemporary society. more

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“To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is, a dissatisfaction with self.”

Self Cures Jealousy Jealous Dissatisfaction Jealousy Envy Jealousy And Envy Love Jealousy Jealous And Envy Love And Jealousy

Author:Joan Didion

“A pool is, for many of us in the West, a symbol not of affluence but of order, of control over the uncontrollable. A pool is water, made available and useful, and is, as such, infinitely soothing to the western eye.”

Made Eye Order Water West Western Available Symbols Pool Soothing Affluence Uncontrollable

Author:Joan Didion

“Had my credentials been in order I would never have become a writer. Had I been blessed with even limited access to my own mind there would have been no reason to write. I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

Thinking Want Writing Mind Mean Has Beens Reason Order My Own Blessed Access No Reason Credentials

Author:Joan Didion

“Short stories demand a certain awareness of one's own intentions, a certain narrowing of the focus.”

Writing Stories Certain Focus Awareness Demand Intention Short Story

Author:Joan Didion

“If we do not respect ourselves, we are on the one hand forced to despise those who have so few resources as to consort with us, so little perception as to remain blind to our fatal weaknesses. On the other, we are peculiarly in thrall to everyone we see, curiously determined to live out — since our self-image is untenable — their false notions of us… We play roles doomed to failure before they are begun, each defeat generating fresh despair at the urgency of divining and meeting the next demand made upon us.”

Ifs Littles Made Self Play Hands Next Roles Demand Despair Perception Weakness Resources Blind Meetings Notion Defeat Determined Despise Doomed Urgency

Author:Joan Didion

“We imagine things — that we wouldn't be able to survive, but in fact, we do survive. ... We have no choice, so we do it.”

Facts Able Choices Imagine

Author:Joan Didion

“We all survive more than we think we can.”

Author:Joan Didion

“When I'm working on a book, I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm.”

Book My Own Pages Sentences Rhythm

Author:Joan Didion

“Some of us who live in arid parts of the world think about water with a reverence others might find excessive.”

Thinking World Might Water Reverence

Book:The White Album

Source: The White Album

“The wind shows us how close to the edge we are.”

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Book:Slouching towards Bethlehem

Source: Slouching towards Bethlehem