John Irving Quotes
I don't really set out to explore grand themes. I set out to tell a story. And one I have to be able to imagine right through.
Quotes to Explore
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One of the most sacred purposes for which the scriptures were written was to make it possible for all to know Christ. The scriptures teach and testify of Jesus Christ. They teach us much that we need to know and to do to return to the presence of the Savior.
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For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe. Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.
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The patient decides when it's best to go.
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Shakespeare's villains are fabulous because none of them know that they are villains. Well, sometimes they do.
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You shouldn't try to manufacture progress.
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I'm not attached to things at all. I'm very lucky to have quite a few beautiful things, but if I look back at my life, I was often happiest when I had very little.
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What is lost in the good or excellent translation is precisely the best.
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I was born and grew up in Fitzgerald, way down in south Georgia. It was a mill town and my family ran the cotton mill. My grandfather was mayor many times and my family felt deeply rooted to that spot.
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It is not known, now, for what length of time the Tuatha de Danaan had the sway over Ireland, and it is likely it was a long time they had it, but they were put from it at last.
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The aging process is totally minimizing. Life in general is pretty minimizing because you have a lot of big ideas, and you have to battle the mistaken delusions and instability that come with youth.
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Monsieur Saint Laurent was pathologically shy, and he made the Saint Laurent woman in his own image. Like her, I am shy. And to protect myself, I adopted something of an androgynous look, just as his women did.
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Sorry, I'm still a dialectical materialist.
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Politicians love power. I love freedom. That is why I am not a politician.
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A warrior is free to be a hero and pull off daring do and the soldier is irresponsible if he does it.
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Too often, campaigns are all flash and no substance.
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I'm from a very small village in the middle of nowhere, four hours by airplane from Moscow. Yemanzhelinsk - you wouldn't find it on the map. Don't even try it. It's super, super tiny.
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New York's definitely got my heart.
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The problem with dragons is that everyone uses them. All the time. When that happens, they become commonplace. A lot of people think you can just throw them into a story and suddenly whatever you're writing is 28% cooler. But that doesn't work. All that does is make dragons into some boring cliche.
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When I broke in, in 1957, it was wide open. Now you're up against strong competition.
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It's valuable to me as an artist and actor to explore all kinds of outlets. So if a local filmmaker in Milwaukee had a good story, I'd be part of it in a second.
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If I want to know how to do a black cat eye, I don't drive to a department store. I'll go on YouTube, cross-check reviews of a product, and then maybe talk about it on Instagram.
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I don't really set out to explore grand themes. I set out to tell a story. And one I have to be able to imagine right through.
