All Quotes

"A writer is an eternal outsider, his nose pressed against whatever window on the other side of which he sees his material. Resentment sharpens his eye, hostility hones his killer instinct."

"New York is at once cosmopolitan and parochial, a compendium of sentimental certainties. It is in fact the most sentimental of the world's great cities — in its self-congratulation a kind of San Francisco of the East."

"Membership in the closed society of the motion picture industry is almost never revoked for moral failings."

"Beating up on screenwriters is a Hollywood blood sport; everyone in the business thinks he or she can write, if only time could be found. That writers find the time is evidence of their inferior position on the food chain. In the Industry, they are regarded as chronic malcontents, overpaid and undertalented, the Hollywood version of Hessians, measuring their worth in dollars, since ownership of their words belongs to those who hire and fire them."

"Stanley claims that the world is divided up into two kinds of people – those who look at their body waste in the toilet bowl, and those who don’t."

"There are no new facts about the Kennedys, only new attitudes, a literature that, like the automobile industry, puts new bodies on old chassis. ... Conspiracy is a small but durable seller, retooled every year or so."

"What is astonishing about the social history of the Vietnam War is not how many people avoided it, but how many could not and did not."

"Writing is a manual labor of the mind: a job, like laying pipe."

"I started all over again on page 1, circling the 262 pages like a vulture looking for live flesh to scavenge."

"The narrative was too constricted; it was like a fetus strangling on its own umbilical cord."

"It deserves to be mentioned here that one purpose of these huge fees is to establish respect; in the constitution of Hollywood, a million-dollar director has half a million dollars more respect than a $500,000 director. This is why the Eleventh Commandment of a motion picture negotiation is Thou shalt not take less than thy last deal. Everyone knows what everyone else makes (this information is passed around like popcorn at a movie), and the person who violates this Eleventh Commandment is seen not as a model of restraint and moderation but as a plain goddamn fool."

"Anecdotes are factoids of questionable provenance, burnished to a high gloss, often set in gilded venues and populated with familiar names as background atmosphere, purged of ambiguity in the interest of keeping the narrative flowing smoothly."

"Well, the beauty of storytelling is that when done with courage and honesty, it can tackle any issue under the sun"

"I would hope that we all learn to seek help when we need it and remind ourselves that a negative experience doesn’t define you and doesn’t determine your future."

"What is a man’s value? How do we as men embrace our vulnerabilities? Taking his example, men should define masculinity in their own terms, not by what is expected of you by family, partners or even worse, complete strangers."

"Mental health awareness is important and it’s good to see that a number of organisations locally work tirelessly to encourage men to take their own mental health seriously"

"The biggest challenge I faced is that nobody trusts a newcomer and you are often treated like rubbish. It is very frustrating because you know you are talented but people still refuse to give you a chance."

"There are better chances now with social media but you have to be patient and take every opportunity you get. I worked it hustle style. That means working with students on their productions.""

""I really don't mind being typecast. Number one it means you have work and second of all it shows that you are valued and an expert in that field. No one asks a doctor if they fear being typecast. When you are sick you go to the doctor that is best for your ailment. You don't go to the gynecologist for a headache, you go to a GP. It is the same with actingTnrdbyl"

"Although the assassination at Sarajevo was certainly the crucial precedent of the European war that its conspirators had sought, it was not the historical cause. ... The implication is that the war was, if not inevitable, at least impending, so that the assassination acted as a lever, prying the various powers into predictable paths."

"The outbreak of the war had nothing to do with individuals. The war had deep roots, including the disruptive effects of rapid industrialization in old feudal societies. ... Experience in the Balkans had taught us that a state can be born in war, and also can be destroyed in war. We wanted to destroy Austria-Hungary."

"History moves terribly slowly, we must give it a push."

"Prosecute us if you will, but I am convinced that the day will soon dawn when our sleepy and lazy society will wake up and be ashamed that it has allowed itself to be humiliated for so long … and when this day comes, society will avenge us. Go on prosecuting us, physical force is still on your side: but moral force and the force of historical progress is on ours: ours is the power of ideas, and ideas cannot be impaled on the points of bayonets."

"Yes, we are anarchists, but, for us, anarchy does not signify disorder, but harmony in all social relations; for us, anarchy is nothing but the negation of oppressions which stifle the development of free societies."

"It is our duty to make sure that our future and that of future generations is safe"

"I saw a problem, and decided to act by advocating for urgent climate justice in my country to make sure no African child is left behind in the just transition to 100% renewable energy."

"Sometimes I feel like I am being used as a token."

"Since our leaders are failing us, we really should try to be active citizens and participate in these spaces as much as we can, so we can hold them to account, because no one is coming to save us"

"We do not know if we might get robbed or not, but that does not stop us from continuing our work"

"We understand the risks,” she says, “but we are willing to work regardless of them"

"I will never surrender activism because I have seen how much of a difference the work I do has made"

"It's important that everyone plays their part in making sure that our future and the future of the next generation is safe and sustainable"

"It’s very important for poor people and people of color to go to these protests and marches because they are feeling the wrath of climate change the most. It’s important for them to have a say, for their voice and their demands to be heard"

"Impumelelo Girls Mentorship is a movement dedicated to breaking barriers and unlocking the potential of young women through mentorship. It empowers young women to excel in education by being afforded access to education and pivoting in their careers. By providing guidance, support and opportunities, the aim is to nurture the talents and aspirations of the next generation. My mission is to change mindsets, foster ambition, and create a stronger and more equitable society"

"The future belongs to you, you are the leaders, innovators and change makers. You are in charge of crafting your journey and become what you desire, the world is your oyster if you believe that you are possible. Your voice matters"

"Now, being in the Top 30 means that I have an opportunity to write a new chapter that is championed by a deeper purpose - to empower young women of South Africa"

"I think this time around, I really know who I am as a person. I want to show my authentic self, which includes being vulnerable"

"I’ve dedicated the last five years to personal development, running charitable activations, pursuing my Master’s in Marketing at the University of Johannesburg, and working closely with young women to assist with access to higher education and career opportunities"

"Even if I don't make it, I would have fulfilled my purpose"

"Dreams do come true. I'm from Soweto, and despite growing up in a modest four-room house and now pursuing a master's degree at the University of Johannesburg, I've shown it's possible"

"Start each day by being thankful"

"World-honored One, just as, for example,"

"Lord of Mysteries, how is one to know one’s own mind."

"Lord of Mysteries, next there is a special practice."

"I think my main interests are to enlarge the horizon of the reader, but also to delight, to entertain and to educate. I would be thrilled if my language moves the reader into becoming one with the rhythm of my text...That's my purpose, to make the rhythm right and to have the reader taken up into the rhythm."

"Trinidad is such a crossroads of the Caribbean. At any given moment there are several cross-currents intersecting in that small island place - downwards from the north through the archipelago, southwards to Venezuela and beyond, outwards to North America and Europe, and then returning home to bring all of this to the Trini scene. An exciting place - full of failed effort, it is true, but also, so full of beauty and of possibility."

"Disparate and colliding identities are intrinsic to any home I have ever known. One cannot afford to be complacent. But there is too a very real sense of belonging and wherever I am, I recognise that belongingness instantly. Place does not matter to me because I know that things change constantly. For me, 'home' is a moveable shack on a beach, a moveable feast."

"I work as an educator/knowledge worker and this means that I am actively involved in the large human project of 'understanding' at all levels all the time. I don't know how this fits with the desire to convey the history of Indo-Caribbon settlement except that this area is still so underdeveloped untold, ill-understood. And maybe this novel is a small step in pushing this understanding forward"

"It is impossible to be alive and have nothing."

"Different works emerge differently and I pay no real attention to the external process. Internally I think there is an identifiable process which can be captured by one word: obsession. The thought, the line, the image, the one word: whatever is the germ of that particular poem stays and stays until it reaches its needed form on the page."