I'm a frotteur, someone who likes to rub words in his hand, to turn them around and feel them, to wonder if that really is the best word possible.
James SalterRead
There is no complete life. There are only fragments. We are born to have nothing, to have it pour through our hands. And yet, this pouring, this flood of encounters, struggles, dreams...
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is made up of fragmented experiences rather than a complete whole.
James Salter's quote reflects on the inherent imperfection of life, suggesting that it consists of fragmented moments rather than a singular, complete experience. It highlights the transient nature of life and how our experiences, with all their struggles and dreams, shape our existence even though they may slip away from us like sand through our fingers.
Themes
LifeFragmentsExperiencesStrugglesDreams
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a graduation speech to remind students of the importance of cherishing each moment.
More from James Salter
All quotes →The summer has ended. The garden withers. The mornings become chill. I am thirty, I am thirty-four -the years turn dry as leaves.
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Why is it so difficult to assemble those things that really matter in life and to dwell among them only? I am referring to certain landscapes, persons, beasts, books, rooms, meteorological conditions, fruits.
James SalterRead
One is seduced and battered in turn. The result is presumably wisdom. Wisdom! We are clinging to life like lizards. Why is it so difficult to assemble those things that really matter in life and to dwell among them only? I am referring to certain landscapes, persons, beasts, books, rooms, meteorological conditions, fruits. In fact, I insist on it. A letter is like a poem, it leaps into life and shows very clearly the marks, perhaps I should say thumbprints, of an unwilling or unready composer.
James SalterRead
If you read a book about school - someone else's book - you always translate it into your own school experiences. It's describing the student: he's bewildered and lost in a large crowd in a university classroom. You'll visualize that from your own experiences. So, everything you know is what you're really writing.
James SalterRead
I think you can be taught to write. You can't be taught to be a good writer. For that, you have to bring something to it, yourself, something that can't be given to you.
James SalterRead
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