Irwin Shaw Quotes
The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.
Quotes to Explore
-
Quitting law school was the most difficult decision of my life. But I felt this great relief that this is my life and I can do what I want with it.
-
I discovered Einstein said the same thing about his celebrated theories of relativity that writers say about their work when he said he didn't have any feelings of personal possession of these ideas. Once they were out there, they came from somewhere else. And that's exactly the feeling when you write. You don't feel possessive about it.
-
I've wanted to be an actor for such a long time that I haven't had anything else in my thoughts. I think my family would have quite liked me to be a lawyer.
-
We had something very special in the Faces. We were blessed to have the fun we had.
-
There's a whole element of human interaction and character interaction that I really enjoy doing.
-
Life's full of lots of dream-stealers always telling you you need to do something more sensible. I think it doesn't matter what your dream is, just fight the dream-stealers and hold onto it.
-
Different directors have different things, so when I left Mike Leigh, as it were, and I went into other projects after 'All or Nothing,' it took some getting used to - what do you mean there's a script?!?' That kind of thing.
-
What I always loved about theater is that that's an experience that a company of actors just sinks itself into for weeks, and you really get to work on the material, and by the time you're in front of an audience, you really own it.
-
I think my novel, 'Walden Two,' has made people stop and look at the culture they have inherited and wonder if it is the last word or whether it can be changed.
-
With the 'Old Kingdom' trilogy, at least half the readers were older adults rather than younger adults. I wrote them for myself with no particular audience in mind.
-
My childhood was colorfully anarchic and punctuated by a lot of change.
-
That's what's so great about television. You're able to tell this long story, where you couldn't really do that in a film because you have to tell a story in an hour and a half or two hours.
-
My first acting job was a Breck commercial.
-
My hero wants to belong too, but he doesn't want to give up all the things he came to value in the west.
-
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn't finish college. Too much emphasis is placed on formal education - I told my children not to worry about their grades but to enjoy learning.
-
I didn't choose literature. Literature chose me. There was no decision on my side.
-
Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?
-
I write about real people in disguise. If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre.
-
Ask the right questions if you're to find the right answers.
-
Initially, I got into the business to do drama. I never really thought I would be doing sci-fi films.
-
I wanted to work with Mike Leigh. I had my list of British people I wanted to work with, and I wanted to work with David Lynch and Woody Allen.
-
I was a big Pretty Purdie fan. I have heavy rhythm and blues influences, and that is what I bring to the table with Aerosmith.
-
My family is very nomadic - my mom, in particular, traveled the world as a young person, and her father before that, and I guess I have that inside me.
-
The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.
