San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel. Every home a poem, every dweller within immortal. That is the whole truth.
William SaroyanRead
The purpose of writing is both to keep up with life and to run ahead of it. I am little comfort to myself, although I am the only comfort I have, excepting perhaps streets, clouds, the sun, the faces and voices of kids and the aged, and similar accidents of beauty, innocence, truth and loneliness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing serves as a way to capture life while also allowing for reflection and imagination.
In this quote, Saroyan emphasizes the dual nature of writing: it is a means to document and stay aware of life's happenings, while also allowing the writer to envision and explore thoughts ahead of their current reality. He acknowledges his own struggles for comfort, highlighting that the simple beauties of life—the streets, clouds, and the presence of children and elders—provide solace amidst the often chaotic and solitary experience of existence.
Themes
WritingLifeBeautyComfortInnocenceLoneliness
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion, one might use this quote to talk about how writing can reflect personal experiences.
More from William Saroyan
All quotes →I care so much about everything that I care about nothing.
William SaroyanRead
I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take away from a man his madness without also taking away his identity? Are we sure it is desirable for a man's spirit not to be at war with itself, or that it is better to be serene and ready to go to dinner than to be excited and unwilling to stop for a cup of coffee, even?
William SaroyanRead
Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.
William SaroyanRead
It is a pity, in my opinion, that no prize exists for the writer who best refrains from adding to the world's bad books.
William SaroyanRead
Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.
William SaroyanRead
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