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It is essential to naturalist doctrine that literature, to be good, must, finally, be the author’s experience worked out literally.

Gore Vidal

Americans have no idea of the extent of their government’s mischief… the number of military strikes we have made unprovoked, against other countries, since 1947 is more than 250.
GORE VIDAL

Age Country Government Ideas Mischief Provoke Strike
There’s a lot to be said for being nouveau riche, and the Reagans mean to say it all.
GORE VIDAL

Identity Myself
The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country – and we haven’t seen them since.
GORE VIDAL

Country Finding People State
My father had lifelong contempt for politicians.
GORE VIDAL

Father Life Myself Politics
TV news is not very instructive.
GORE VIDAL

Instruction One Liner
In character, as it were, the writer settles for an impression of what happened rather than creating the sense of the thing happening.
GORE VIDAL

Character Creation Impression Myself Settle Writing
Some of my father’s fellow West Pointers once asked him why I turned out so well, his secret in raising me. And he said, ‘I never gave him any advice, and he never asked for any.’ We agreed on nothing, but we never quarreled once.
GORE VIDAL

Agreement Father Fellow Himself Raise Secret
I am only at home in the present.
GORE VIDAL

Home Oneself Present
Why not just eliminate the federal income tax?
GORE VIDAL

Elimination Income Tax
Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.
GORE VIDAL

Attack Death Earth Ourselves Thinking
Boys don’t like girls around when they do boy things.
GORE VIDAL

Character Human Male Nature
What I like least about myself is my belligerence.
GORE VIDAL

Character Myself Nature
Both Marx and Christ agree that in this life, a right action is consideration for the welfare of others.
GORE VIDAL

Action God Karma Life Right Welfare
Europe began as the relatively empty, uncivilized Wild West of Asia; then the Western Hemisphere became the Wild West of Europe. Now the sun has set in our West and risen once more in the East.
GORE VIDAL

Beginning Europe Ourselves Sun
To preserve the human race, it is now necessary to reorganize society. To this end, an Authority must be created with the power to control human population, to redistribute food, to purify air, water, soil, to re-pattern the cities.
GORE VIDAL

Food Human Pattern Population Preserve Race Recognition
That loyal retainer of the Chase Manhattan Bank, the American president.
GORE VIDAL

Bank Loyalty President

It is essential to naturalist doctrine that literature, to be good, must, finally, be the author’s experience worked out literally.

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It is essential to naturalist doctrine that literature, to be good, must, finally, be the author’s experience worked out literally.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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