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Quote by Alice McDermott

“What makes a sentence, a phrase, a moment, or a scene delightful? Something about recognizing the truth in it, hearing the music in it, understanding, intuitively perhaps, that the words are just right. It's not a matter of even context - delight is not limited to scenes or descriptions of happiness or beauty - but of aesthetic appreciation of the thing itself. As a reader, I find it's that moment when I want to stop reading, and also that moment when I know I can't. Delight is that it's what takes me by surprise and reminds me why I love the literary arts above all others.”

Author

Alice McDermott

Alice McDermott is an American author renowned for her delicate emotional descriptions and profound character portrayals. Her works often focus on the lives of ordinary people, exploring themes such as family, faith, and identity. Born on June 27, 1953, in New York. more

“As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader will find something of it when the work is complete. But I do try to figure out where in their experiences certain characters of mine, who are not necessarily readers, and certainly not writers or artists, find an equivalent sensation: of delight, of astonishment, of whatever it is that briefly - and brevity seems essential - reassures us, connects us, sends a shiver of inarticulate recognition down our spines: Oh, yes: life.”

Trying Character Artist Busy Recognition Worried Too Busy Brevity Shiver

Author:Alice McDermott

“Fiction that intends to be something other than entertainment has a certain obligation, I think, to convince the reader, every time, that what is to be evoked - character, experience, idea - is worthy of his or her consideration, intellectual energy, close attention.”

Thinking Character Energy Attention Intellectual Worthy Obligation Consideration Convince

Author:Alice McDermott

“One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real.”

Men Should Real Virtue Judging Depravity

Author:Klaus Kinski

“Sohn means "son" in German. I loved the idea of the word, because it's short and it was also important for me to have an "o" sound in my name. I like the idea of being the son of yourself - a bit of a rebirth, in a way. Also, I love the fact that it's such a blank word.”

Mean Important Son Rebirth

Author:SOHN