Seamus Heaney Quotes
It is difficult at times to repress the thought that history is about as instructive as an abattoir.
Quotes to Explore
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At one point, I had a story accepted at the 'New Yorker,' which sent off weird bells in people when I told them - 'Oh,' they thought, 'now you are a writer' - where I really had been for the last 30-odd years.
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I divide criticism into two categories - one coming from those who understand music, who are worthy of being critical because they are knowledgeable about what they are saying; and then there is another category of people who would criticise you anyway, whether your work is good or bad.
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The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.
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The world gets older, without getting either better or worse and so does literature. But I do think that the drab current phenomenon that passes for literary studies in the university will finally provide its own corrective.
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I was born in England, but then I lived in Calgary, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, India, Vancouver, London, Toronto, and now L.A.
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We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.
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Oh, I'm quite the impulse buyer. Most of what I buy is stuff for my Jeep, 'cause it breaks down a lot.
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I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me.
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We must not let daylight in upon the magic.
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I like working with my own body weight, and I just do the best job I can to be healthy and strong, both before and after a fight.
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Academic institutions in Britain have been infiltrated for years by dangerous theocratic fantasists. I should know: I was one of them.
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Some people manage their writing by saying, 'I need to get 2,000 words written today,' others by saying, 'I will write for X hours.' Not me. I start with a plan for the book, break it down into scenes, and I know what scenes need to get written each day. If the scene takes more words than I thought, so be it.
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The world has become so complex that the idea of a power in which everything comes together and can be controlled in a centralized way is now erroneous.
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So I'm a young boy in the 1940s growing up, seeing Ralph Bunche on a regular basis, seeing Duke Ellington on a regular basis. We know that these people are famous. They're living in the same community as we live in. They go to the same stores and shops.
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I was awfully curious to find out why I didn't go insane.
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Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.
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OK, I'll put it like this: I doubt if we will see another All-American basketball athlete who is a Rhodes Scholar.
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I was excited by the idea of playing a Nazi.
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A lot of people don't even listen to albums start to finish, but I do - for sure.
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8. For one stationed in the Self, Sahasrara will be of pure effulgence. There: if any mental formulation falls within its presence, it will not live.
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I think it's important to have closure in any relationship that ends - from a romantic relationship to a friendship. You should always have a sense of clarity at the end and know why it began and why it ended. You need that in your life to move cleanly into your next phase.
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Prepare for the difficult while it is still easy. Deal with the big while it is still small. Difficult undertakings have always started with what easy. Great undertakings always started with what is small. Therefore the sage never strives for the great,And thereby the great is achieved.
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Rekindling hope, engaging in inner work, and venturing into the world amount to a complete plan for picking yourself up when you're down.
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It is difficult at times to repress the thought that history is about as instructive as an abattoir.
