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A lot interests me – but nothing surprises me particularly.

Edward Albee

Sincerity doesn’t mean anything. A person can be sincere and be more destructive than a person who is insincere.
EDWARD ALBEE

Destruction Person Sincere
One has always got to be terribly careful, since the theater is made up of a whole bunch of prima donnas, not to let the distortions occur.
EDWARD ALBEE

Careful Prevent Terrible Theatre
In a democracy you cannot stop public access to that art that will most misinform the people. You cannot stop people from being misinformed. But what you can do is to educate the people to the point that they will throw the rascals out.
EDWARD ALBEE

Access Democracy Information People Point Public Stop Yourself
The arts are the only things that separate us from the other animals. The arts are not decorative. They are essential to our comprehension of consciousness and ourselves.
EDWARD ALBEE

Animal Art Conscious Decorative Essential Ourselves Separate
Anything you put in a play – any speech – has got to do one of two things: either define character or push the action of the play along.
EDWARD ALBEE

Action Definition Oneself Play
A writer is a controlled schizophrenic.
EDWARD ALBEE

Control Perspective Writing
If you’re willing to fail interestingly, you tend to succeed interestingly.
EDWARD ALBEE

Failure Inspirational Success Willing Yourself
Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.
EDWARD ALBEE

Democracy Deserve Oneself Politics Time
Why we are here is an impenetrable question.
EDWARD ALBEE

Philosophy Question
When people don’t like the way a play ends, they’re likely to blame the play.
EDWARD ALBEE

Blame End People Play Way
Your source material is the people you know, not those you don’t know, but every character is an extension of the author’s own personality.
EDWARD ALBEE

Author Character Extension Material People Personality Source Yourself
Maybe it’s a little more pertinent now since the whole concept of evolution is being questioned by the know-nothing Republican right. Yes, maybe the play’s a little more pertinent now.
EDWARD ALBEE

Concept Evolution Play Question
When you get old, you can’t talk to people because people snap at you…. That’s why you become deaf, so you won’t be able to hear people talking to you that way.
EDWARD ALBEE

Old People Snap Talk Way Yourself
I have been both overpraised and under praised. I assume by the time I finish writing — and I plan to go on writing until I’m 90 or gaga it will all equal itself out.
EDWARD ALBEE

Equality Myself Praise Time Writing
American critics are like American universities. They both have dull and half-dead faculties.
EDWARD ALBEE

Criticism Death Facility
You’re alive only once, as far as we know, and what could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing you hadn’t lived it?
EDWARD ALBEE

Alive End Life Live Realization Worst Yourself
People often ask me how long it takes me to write a play, and I tell them ‘all of my life.’
EDWARD ALBEE

Life Myself People Play Writing
A lot of people are confused by “hello.” A lot of people are confused by a lot of things they shouldn’t be confused by.
EDWARD ALBEE

Confusion Education People
The characters’ lives have gone on before the moment you chose to have the action of the play begin. And their lives are going to go on after you have lowered the final curtain on the play, unless you’ve killed them off.
EDWARD ALBEE

Action Character Live Lower Moments Yourself
Martha: Oh, I like your anger. I think that’s what I like about you most. Your anger.
EDWARD ALBEE

Angry Myself Thinking Yourself
The responsibility of the writer is to be a sort of demonic social critic — to present the world and people in it as he sees it and say, “Do you like it? If you don’t like it, change it.
EDWARD ALBEE

Change Criticism Responsibility Social Yourself
I think you remember everything, you just can’t bring it to mind all the time.
EDWARD ALBEE

Mindset Myself Remember Thinking Time Yourself
Martha: Truth or illusion, George; you don’t know the difference. George: No, but we must carry on as though we did. Martha: Amen.
EDWARD ALBEE

Carry Difference Illusion Truth Yourself
All serious art is being destroyed by commerce. Most people don’t want art to be disturbing. They want it to be escapist. I don’t think art should be escapist. That’s a waste of time.
EDWARD ALBEE

Art Commerce Destroy Disturbance Escape People Serious Wasted Time
Death is release, if you’ve lived all right.
EDWARD ALBEE

Death Live Right Yourself
Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf means who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, who’s afraid of living life without false illusions.
EDWARD ALBEE

Afraid Fake Illusion Life Live
First, I’ll kill the dog with kindness, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll just kill him.
EDWARD ALBEE

Choice Dog Kill Kindness Method Myself

A lot interests me – but nothing surprises me particularly.

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A lot interests me – but nothing surprises me particularly.

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