W. H. Auden Quotes

But if a stranger in the train asks me my occupation, I never answer "writer" for fear that he may go on to ask me what I write, and to answer "poetry" would embarrass us both, for we both know that nobody can earn a living simply by writing poetry.

W. H. Auden

• Writing
• May
• Fear
• Poetry

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Quotes to Explore

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• In the case of my book, I don't think it's really the coming-out gay novel that everyone really needed, even though it was received as such. The boy is too creepy, he betrays his teacher, the only adult man with whom he's enjoyed a sexual experience, etc.

  

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• Creating things sometimes is difficult.

  

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• When I was writing pretty poor poetry, this girl with midnight black hair told me to go on.

  

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• As it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.'

  

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• The job as a coach is difficult.

  

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• I hate being manipulated by song. Don't tell me what I should be feeling. I don't want cellos or violins to be telling me that I should be bawling right now.

  

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• My father loves people. No matter what their race, no matter what their position in life, he treated everyone with kindness and love and respect. And that was instilled in me just by watching him.

  

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• America is huge.

  

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• The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself.

  

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• The reason that last-ditch political maneuvering has become business as usual in Washington is that the actors involved are drunk on blame and are convinced that the voting public is, too. They count on outrage, thereby spreading numbness. They cherish the prospect of partisan fury, thereby inspiring nonpartisan disgust.

  

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• But if a stranger in the train asks me my occupation, I never answer "writer" for fear that he may go on to ask me what I write, and to answer "poetry" would embarrass us both, for we both know that nobody can earn a living simply by writing poetry.

  

  W. H. Auden
  • Writing
  • May
  • Fear