black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

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

Comedy, I imagine, is harder to do consistently than tragedy, but I like it spiced in the wine of sadness.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Sadness Tragedy Wine
A man is an island in the only sense that matters, not an easy way to be. We live in mystery, a cosmos of separate lonely bodies, men, insects, stars. It is all loneliness and men know it best.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Insects Loneliness Lonely Matter Men Stars
The idea is to get the pencil moving quickly.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Ideas Moving Writing
The first draft of a book is the most uncertain-where you need guts, the ability to accept the imperfect until it is better.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Accept Book Imperfect Uncertain Until
Space plus whatever you feel equals more whatever you feel, marvelous for happiness, God save you otherwise.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Happiness Plus Space
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
Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Pleasure Revision Writing
All men are Jews, though few men know it.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Jew Knows Men
It was all those biographies in me yelling, ‘We want out. We want to tell you what we’ve done to you.’
BERNARD MALAMUD

Biography Done Want Yelling
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
First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. Revision is working with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea, to re-form it….
BERNARD MALAMUD

Book Firsts Ideas
You can’t eat language but it eases thirst.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Ease Language Thirst
Teach yourself to work in uncertainty.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Teaching Uncertainty Writing
A man had to learn, it was his nature.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Learning Men Nature
As long as a man stays alive he can’t tell what chances will pop up next. But a dead man signs no checks.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Long Men Perseverance

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

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Bernard Malamud Quotes