Home / Quotes / Quote by William Finnegan

Quote by William Finnegan

“There are big surfing communities in every country with an ocean coast that I know in Central and South America. Same with Mexico, Bali, and nearly every island nation that gets waves in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. But that's a relatively recent development in most places.”

Quote by William Finnegan

Author

William Finnegan

William Finnegan, born in 1952, is an accomplished American writer known for his in-depth investigative reporting and profound insights into social phenomena. His works are characterized by their focus on political, social, and moral issues, showcasing exceptional narrative skills and critical thinking. more

You May Also Like

“I remember surfing in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, even Madeira, when local fishermen had never seen a surfboard before, and refused to believe that we could ride a wave on one.”

Believe Remember Wave Locals Surfing Fisherman Fiji Samoa

Author:William Finnegan

“Rich white people show up in a poor country to pursue their leisure-time fun, get served by black and brown people, and live in relative - or absolute - comfort. In the water, that situation can get turned on its head, though. Local kids learn to surf, know the breaks, and take most or all of the best waves, fuming turistas be damned.”

People Knows Country Shows Kids Fun Black Water White Poor Situation Break Rich Comfort Absolutes Wave Locals Pursue Brown Relative Leisure Surf Poor Countries Leisure Time

Author:William Finnegan

“Poor-country surf communities can be complex and, to some extent, leveling. The fisherman's kid is competing head to head with the plutocrat's gilded son. Your father can't buy you a good frontside hack.”

Country Kids Father Community Poor Son Complexes Competing Surf Fisherman Hacks Poor Countries Gilded

Author:William Finnegan

“It's so much harder than it looks - to conjure a fictional world that some passing wolf of skepticism can't just blow down in one breath.”

World Looks Harder Breaths Blow Passing Passings Skepticism Fictional Worlds

Author:William Finnegan

“I always wanted to write. While I was on a long surf trip, supporting myself with various day jobs, I was working hard on a novel. My third novel, in fact.”

Writing Long Hard Facts Wanted Jobs Novel Thirds Various Surf Day Jobs

Author:William Finnegan

“I'm trying to find out what's actually true, which is nearly always something, if not a world of things, that you can't read in books.”

Ifs World Trying Book

Author:William Finnegan

“The differences between the received wisdom, the standard version of events, and the facts on the ground may be subtle or they may be stark, even profound.”

May Facts Differences Events Standards Profound Versions Subtle Starks

Author:William Finnegan

“I need to conduct myself differently in different communities. In my experience, the journalistic conventions - you know, I'm the reporter, you're the subject, the interviewee - actually tend to hold steady much more consistently in rural Africa than they do in the American inner city.”

Knows Needs Different Community Cities Subjects Steady Conventions Consistently Reporters Inner City Journalistic

Author:William Finnegan

“Speaking generally, I think it's useful to acknowledge explicitly the power imbalance between a journalist and the protagonists in a story about poor people, even to make that imbalance part of the story - and to redress it, narratively, where you can.”

People Thinking Stories Poor Journalist Acknowledge Poor People Protagonists Imbalance Redress

Author:William Finnegan

“It's completely different, for instance, to report on poor farmers in Africa than it is to report on, say, poor African-Americans. The familiarity of my readers with the terrain, and their preconceptions, are quite different in those two cases, and their perspective, as I imagine it, has to be taken into account at every turn.”

Two Different Turns Poor Cases Taken Imagine Perspective Reader Accounts Instance African American Reports Farmers Familiarity Terrain Preconceptions

Author:William Finnegan