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For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863…

William Faulkner

The problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Agony Alone Conflict Good Heart Human Itself Make Problem Worth Write
Time is a fluid condition which has no existence except in the momentary avatars of individual people. There is no such thing as was – only is.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Avatar Condition Existence Fluid Individual Momentary No Only People Such Thing Time
Like a fellow running from or toward a gun ain’t got time to worry whether the word for what he is doing is courage or cowardice.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Courage Cowardice Fellow Good Gun Let Run Time Toward Whether Word
They say that it is the practiced liar who can deceive. But so often the practiced and chronic liar deceives only himself; it is the man who all his life has been selfconvicted of veracity whose lies find quickest credence.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Chronic Deceive Himself Liar Lie Only Practical Quickest Say Selfconvicted Veracity
Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Before Believe Believer Even Know Longer Memory Recollect Remember Wonder
An artist is a creature driven by demons. He don’t know why they choose him and he’s usually too busy to wonder why. He is completely amoral in that he will rob, borrow, beg, or steal from anybody and everybody to get the work done.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Artist Beg Choose Creature Demon Done Driven Everybody Steal Wonder Work
The end of wisdom is to dream high enough to lose the dream in the seeking of it.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Dream End Enough IT Lose Seek Wisdom
If a story is in you, it has to come out.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Come Has Out Story
The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Aim Artificial Artist Every Fix Hold Hundred Later Life Look Motion Stranger Year
The most important thing is insight, that is to be-curiosity-to wonder, to mull, and to muse why it is that man does what he does, and if you have that, then I don’t think the talent makes much difference, whether you’ve got it or not.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Curiosity Important Insight Man Most Muse Talent Think Whether Wonder
Good ones don’t have time to bother with success or getting rich.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Brother Dood Get Have One Rich Success Time
No man can cause more grief than that one clinging blindly to the vices of his ancestors.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Ancestor Blindly Cling Grief Man More No One Value Vice
Remember, all Tolstoy ever said to describe Anna Karenina was that she was beautiful and could see in the dark like a cat. Every man has a different idea of what’s beautiful, and it’s best to take the gesture, the shadow of the branch, and let the mind create the tree.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Beautiful Branch Country Create Describe Different Every Gesture Man People Person Remember Shadow Take Tolstoy Tree
Yes. A man will talk about how he’d like to escape from living folks. But it’s the dead folks that do him the damage. It’s the dead ones that lay quiet in one place and dont try to hold him, that he cant escape from.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Damage Dead Escape Folk Hold Lay Live Man One Quiet Talk Yes
The books I read are the ones I knew and loved when I was a young man and to which I return as you do to old friends.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Book Friend Knew Loved Man Old One Read Return Young
I could smell the curves of the river beyond the dusk and I saw the last light supine and tranquil upon tideflats like pieces of broken mirror, then beyond them lights began in the pale clear air, trembling a little like butterflies hovering a long way off.
WILLIAM FAULKNER

Beyond Broken Butterfly Could Curve Dusk Last Light Like Mirror Piece River Saw Smell Supinem Tranquil Tideflat Trembling Upon

For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863…

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For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863…

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More William Faulkner Quotes