The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.
Don DelilloRead
I am ashamed every day, and more ashamed the next. But I will spend the rest of my life in this living space writing these notes, this journal, recording my acts and reflections, finding some honor, some worth at the bottom of things. I want ten thousand pages that will stop the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep sense of shame and the desire for redemption through the act of writing.
In this quote, Don DeLillo articulates a struggle with personal shame and a quest for meaning and honor through the written word. He emphasizes the cathartic power of journaling as a means to confront his internal conflicts, seeking to produce something profound that can resonate with the world, even amidst feelings of inadequacy.
Themes
ShameWritingJournalHonorReflection
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on personal growth, one might quote this to emphasize the power of journaling.
More from Don Delillo
All quotes →War is the form nostalgia takes when men are hard-pressed to say something good about their country.
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American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous.
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For me, writing is a concentrated form of thinking.
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I used to think it was possible for an artist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunmen have taken that territory.
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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way he’s carrying a gun. This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
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