Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Quote by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

“Sometimes I think the books that affect us most are fantasy books. I don't mean books in the fantasy genre; I don't even mean the books we fantasize about writing but don't write. What I'm thinking of here are the books we know about — from their titles, from reading reviews, or hearing people talk about them — but haven't, over a period of time, actually read. Books that can therefore have a presence, or exert a pressure in our lives and thinking, that may have little to do with what's actually inside them.”

Quote by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Create image

Author

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick was an influential American academic and literary critic, recognized for her contributions to queer theory and gender studies. She served as a professor at the University of Southern California and the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her writings have significantly influenced literary criticism and cultural studies. more

You May Also Like

“The soft glow of the afternoon light fills my apartment, casting a warm embrace over everything it touches. It's 4:30 PM, and the distant hum of the city seeps through the windows, a subtle reminder of life beyond these walls. Maddie lies beside me with sunlight playing across her skin, turning it into a canvas of peaches and cream. I'm captivated by how the light accentuates her form's softness, the delicate peach fuzz that covers her, and the single white hair amidst my chest hairs that she idly twirls with her fingers. 'We've been lucky this weekend,' I murmur, the words barely a whisper, lost in the moment's tranquility. She laughs softly, a sound that fills the room with warmth. 'I'm sorry for not being quieter earlier... I hope Mrs. Halverson didn't hear.' 'I shake my head, smiling at the thought of my elderly neighbor. "She's probably out with Mr. Piffles, enjoying the afternoon.' Reluctantly, I slide out of bed, feeling the cool air against my skin. I dress quietly, aware of Maddie's gaze following me. She doesn't say anything, but we both know the weekend is drawing to a close, and reality awaits us. As I finish getting dressed, Maddie watches me silently. Then, with a playful glint in her eye, she reclines in bed, striking a pose reminiscent of Goya’s La Maja Desnuda. 'Do I compare to Pepita Tudó?' she asks, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. 'You're far prettier,' I assure her, and I mean every word.”

RomanceAfter SexPartings
Book:Reunion: Coda: Book 2 of the Reunion Duology
Create image

“With everything going on in my life – going on in my head – I wanted to talk with you. Really talk. Just once. A chance we never seemed to get at school. Or at work. A chance to ask, Who are you?' We didn’t get that chance because I was afraid. Afraid that I had no chance with you. That’s what I thought. And I was fine with that. Because whit if I got to know you and you turned out to be just like they said? What if you weren’t the person I hoped you were? That, more than anything, would have hurt the most.”

ChancesReal TalkAfraid To Fall In Love
Book:Thirteen Reasons Why
Create image

“The Fever Bird The fever bird sand out last night. I could not sleep, try as I might. My brain was split, my spirit raw. I looked into the garden, saw The shadow of the amaltas Shake slightly on the moonlit grass Unseen, the bird cried out its grief, Its lunacy, without relief: Three notes repeated closer, higher, Soaring, then sinking down like fire Only to breathe the night and soar, As crazed, as desperate, as before. I shivered in the midnight heat And smelt the sweat that soaked my sheet. And now tonight I hear again The call that skewers though my brain, The call, the brain-sick triple note-- A cone of pain stuck inits throat. I am so tired I could weep. Mad bird, for God's sake let me sleep Why do you cry like one possessed? When will you rest? When will you rest? Why wait each night till all but I Lie sleeping in the house, then cry? Why do you scream into my ear What no one else but I can hear?”

PoetryA Suitable Boy
Book:A Suitable Boy
Create image

“You grieve for those beyond grief, and you speak words of insight; but learned men do not grieve for the dead or the living. Never have I not existed nor you, nor these kings; and never in the future shall we cease to exist. Just as the embodied self enters childhood, youth, and old age, so does it enter another body; this does not confound a steadfast man. Contacts with matter make us feel heat and cold, pleasure and pain. Arjuna, you must learn to endure fleeting things-they come and go! When these cannot torment a man, when suffering and joy are equal for him and he has courage, he is fit for immortality. Nothing of nonbeing comes to be, nor does being cease to exist; the boundary between these two is seen by men who see reality. Indestructible is this presence that pervades all this; no one can destroy this unchanging reality. ...”

GriefIndiaOld AgeGrief And LossReincarnationImmoralityGrieveA Suitable BoyVikram Seth
Author:Vikram Seth
Create image

“Have you thought about what you want to write about?" I shrug. "Working in Pop's Deli, I thought," I tell her. I could describe the ladies who come in on their lunch break. The old men with their oniony smells. I can talk about how I make their lives better with smoked salmon and capers, and how, even though there are fewer customers than there used to be, we've formed a community there. I can use just enough detail that it might be clear how an everything bagel is a metaphor for the whole world.”

BagelsMeatsDeliWriting Ideas
Book:Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love
Create image

“When I go downstairs, Pop has just lifted the metal door that covers the storefront. It rattles on its way up and sends light all through everything, the deli case and the floor I mopped till it shone last night before closing. I go to get the chopped liver and the whitefish from the walk-in fridge, shielding my hands with a second skin of latex, then scoop them into the containers. I slice up onions and lettuce and tomatoes. I set out orange-pink lox on a platter and lay down a sheet of saran wrap over it.”

Surf And TurfFood PreparationBagelsMeatsDeli
Book:Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love
Create image

“In the center of the table is a classic deli platter of lox and tuna salad with all the fixings, bagels, and cream cheeses. And on a trivet, a noodle kugel, a casserole of egg noodles suspended in a light sweet custard, with a crunchy topping of crushed cornflakes mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar. It was always my favorite thing my mom ever made. "All my favorites." My mom beams at me. "And mine too. Let's eat!" my dad says, swatting my mom on her ample tush. We make our plates, I grab a plain bagel and top one up with tuna salad and dill pickle, and the other with chive cream cheese and cucumber. I also help myself to a large corner chunk of kugel, for maximum crispy edges, and some coleslaw. Clearly someone went all the way out to Kaufman's on Dempster in Skokie; I can tell by the bagels. A slight crunch on the outside gives way to perfect dense chewiness.”

JewishToppingsFavoritesBagelsSide DishSpreadsCrispyKugel
Book:Wedding Girl
Create image