John Irving Quotes

I'm not a twentieth-century novelist, I'm not modern, and certainly not postmodern. I follow the form of the nineteenth-century novel; that was the century that produced the models of the form. I'm old-fashioned, a storyteller. I'm not an analyst, and I'm not an intellectual.

John Irving

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Quotes to Explore

• Historical costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries look so complicated, but when you see the patterns, it's very systematic. I've always been impressed by how the patterns economize the fabric.

  

  Olivier Theyskens
  • Always
  • Look
  • See

• Curiosity does, no less than devotion, pilgrims make.

  

  Abraham Cowley
  • Curiosity
  • Devotion
  • Less

• I'm very fortunate. I have a wonderful family, lots of hobbies and athletic pursuits. I always wanted to have a very well-rounded life.

  

  Laura Lang
  • Life
  • Family
  • Always

• The devil put before me that I could not endure the trials of the religious life, because of my delicate nurture. I defended myself against him by alleging the trials which Christ endured, and that it was not much for me to suffer something for His sake; besides, He would help me to bear it.

  

  Saint Teresa of Avila
  • Life
  • Help
  • Myself

• Cast changes are a hard thing. For two years, we had this little family. We weren't together when these changes were decided upon. It all happened during our hiatus.

  

  Victoria Pratt
  • Family
  • Together
  • Changes

• Any film I do needs to excite me at a script level.

  

  Mahesh Babu
  • Me
  • Film
  • Level

• With TV, the pace is so fast, the scripts are coming at you, the directors are firing things at you, it's breathtaking.

  

  Taraji P. Henson
  • You
  • Fast
  • Pace

• Even when they have nothing, the Irish emit a kind of happiness, a joy.

  

  Fiona Shaw
  • Kind
  • Joy
  • Happiness

• A movie set is like a petri dish for neuroses, you know? It's just, like, egos and weird personalities and, more than anything, fear.

  

  Oscar Isaac
  • Movie
  • Fear
  • Know

• Being from Israel and a Jew is complex already, but with France, there is a freedom and a mix of culture. I have met musicians from all over the world.

  

  Yael Naim
  • World
  • Culture
  • Freedom

• I've had a lot of struggles and I would be in a lot of trouble, I think, if I wasn't a Christian.

  

  Victoria Jackson
  • Think
  • Christian
  • Trouble

• We want a money that some government mandarin can't just whisk into existence with a pen stroke.

  

  Patrick M. Byrne
  • Money
  • Want
  • Government

• If a film is very clever and well-written, that's what gives you freedom as a director.

  

  Patrice Leconte
  • Freedom
  • You
  • Clever

• I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.

  

  Tahar Ben Jelloun
  • Night
  • Prayer
  • Others

• I'm shooting a pilot based on my show. It's a one-camera show. I play myself.

  

  Dane Cook
  • Play
  • Myself
  • Pilot

• It's possible for people to gain control of every facet of your life.

  

  Randy Quaid
  • People
  • Life
  • Control

• The times may have changed, but the people are still the same. We're still looking for love, and that will always be our struggle as human beings.

  

  Halle Berry
  • People
  • Love
  • Struggle

• 'Trouble,' he chuckled. 'What does a boy like you know about trouble? I was in trouble afore you were born. I been in trouble you don’t even got words for.'

  

  Patrick Rothfuss
  • Words
  • Boy

• It is a sad commentary of our times when our young must seek advice and counsel from 'Dear Abby' instead of going to Mom and Dad.

  

  Pauline Phillips
  • Dad
  • Mom
  • Advice

• The power of the human spirit inspires me. Movies, books, stories, people, anything that reminds us that we are more than just this physical body and our capacity for love and courage can bend reality.

  

  Caity Lotz
  • Power
  • Courage
  • Spirit

• I always like helping young artists develop because I was a new artist myself.

  

  De La Ghetto
  • Artist
  • Helping
  • Young

• When I was about 14, in about 1984, I decided to become a great poet. Faber & Faber was going to publish me, and when Ted Hughes read my first anthology he would invite me to Yorkshire for meat pies and mentorship.

  

  David Mitchell
  • Great

• The worst pain a man can have is to know much and be impotent to act.

  

  Herodotus
  • Man
  • Pain
  • Impotent

• I'm not a twentieth-century novelist, I'm not modern, and certainly not postmodern. I follow the form of the nineteenth-century novel; that was the century that produced the models of the form. I'm old-fashioned, a storyteller. I'm not an analyst, and I'm not an intellectual.

  

  John Irving