black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

You could not pity anything if you weren’t a man; pity was a surprise to God. It was not his invention.

Bernard Malamud

You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Down Sitting Writing
We’re persecuted in the most civilized languages.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Civilized Language Persecuted
A writer has to surprise himself to be worth reading.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Reading Surprise Worth
Those who write about life, reflect about life. you see in others who you are.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Who You Are Writing
The whole history of baseball has the quality of mythology.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Baseball Mythology Quality
If the stories come, you get them written, you’re on the right track. Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery to crack is you.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Cracks Eventually Mystery Real Track
One often feels helpless in the face of the confusion of these times, such a mass of apparently uncontrollable events and experiences to live through, attempt to understand.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Apparteally Attempt Confusion Experience Time Uncontrolled
Writers who can’t invent stories often substitute style for narrative. They remind me of the painter who couldn’t paint people, so he painted chairs.
BERNARD MALAMUD

People Stories Style
We have two lives, the life we learn with and the life we live with after that. Suffering is what brings us toward happiness.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Life Live Suffering Two
First drafts are for learning what your story is about.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Draft Firsts Learn Stories
In my dreams I ate and I ate my dreams.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Ate Dream Success
The past exudes legend: one can’t make pure clay of time’s mud. There is no life that can be recaptured wholly; as it was.Which is to say that all biography is ultimately fiction.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Clay Past Recapture Time
We didn’t starve but nobody ate chicken unless we were sick or the chicken was.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Poor Poverty Sick
Some men are by nature explorers; my nature is to stay under the same moon and stars, and if the weather is wet, under the same roof. It’s a strange world, why make it stranger?
BERNARD MALAMUD

Adventure Moon Stars
And if at all possible, give order to; but one must not withdraw from the task if he has some small things to offer – he does so at the risk of diminishing his humanity.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Diminishing Humanity Small Some Withdraw
The short story packs a self in a few pages predicating a lifetime
BERNARD MALAMUD

Pages Self Stories

You could not pity anything if you weren’t a man; pity was a surprise to God. It was not his invention.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

You could not pity anything if you weren’t a man; pity was a surprise to God. It was not his invention.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bernard Malamud Quotes