"We had a conversation the other day with Ming the Merciless, one of the preeminent villains of modern times, whose half-century-long struggle with his opposite number, Flash Gordon, has helped generations of Americans conceptualize the fearsome enchantments of space. We caught up with the veteran malefactor at the Volney, where he greeted us in a turquise-and-gold dressing gown, a black skullcap setting off his striking yellowish pallor. We immediately put our foot in it by addressing him as ”Mr. Ming” “I don’t want to be stuffy,” he said pleasantly, “but that’s Emperor Ming, if you don’t mind. ...”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesShort story writers from the United StatesLiterary criticsEducators from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
“Ming”, p. 93, opening
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Barthelme
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Donald Barthelme
Donald Barthelme (April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American author known for his postmodern short stories and novels.
73 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Donald Barthelme →
Related Quotes
"LeDuff’s argument (in Shock Art #37) that an image, once floated on the international art-sea, is a fish that anyone …"
"I am never needlessly obscure—I am needfully obscure, when I am obscure."
"It is not true that Kafka wanted Brod to burn his manuscripts after his death. Rather it is the case that Kafka was o…"
"Oh, there is nothing better than intelligent conversation except thrashing about in bed with a naked girl and Egmont …"
"His examiner...said severely: "Baskerville, you blank round, discursiveness is not literature." "The aim of literatur…"
"The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I …"
"[picket sign] COGITO ERGO NOTHING!....[casual passerby:] "Cogito ergo your ass"...."
"It's true," Carl said, "with a kind of merde-y inner truth which shines forth as the objective correlative of what ac…"
"The present goal of the individual in group enterprises is to avoid dominance; leadership is felt to be a character d…"
"Poignance is all."