Andrew Motion Quotes
I write between 5.30am and 9.00. That way, I hope I carry over something from my dream time.
Quotes to Explore
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I'm a Canadian. Outside Canada I carry the flag. Canadian nationalism isn't as insidious as American nationalism, though. It's good natured. It's all about maple syrup, not war.
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I traveled so much to dance that I feel a part of many places, but New York is where I spent most of my life and where my career has been - it's the place where I exist.
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I only buy a computer when it's two years old, after the glitches have been worked out.
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During my second draft pass on my last book I made 20,000 words happen in a week, which is practically supernatural for me, and it would never have been possible without three nights in a hotel in my own city.
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I first started writing fiction in college because I was attracted to beautiful sentences. I loved to read them. I wanted to write them.
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I grew up in California, and when I read that Proposition 8 was on the ballot, I was disappointed because it seemed to be inconsistent with the spirit of the state, with the independence and diversity of the frontier that California has always been.
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I think chemistry and great acting go hand-in-hand.
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The security and the future of Jordan is hand-in-hand with the future of the Palestinians and the Israelis.
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I would hate for my father to regret all his support that he's given me over the years and be embarrassed by anything I chose to do.
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I don't think I've ever met any single person who has been vulgar. But you know, you learn along the way that some people are going to be very generous, and other people... It's just not innate within them. Sometimes I think you just have to decide if you're going to stand up and get on with it or if you're going to be crushed and threatened.
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The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.
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I cannot believe that violence depicted onscreen actually causes people to act out violently. That's oversimplifying the issue. If somebody commits a violent act after seeing violence in a movie, I think the question that needs to be asked is: would that person still have committed the act if he had not seen a violent film?
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As they marched, the crowds lining the route broke into applause, a sweet and deeply felt spontaneous pattering that was a sort of communal embrace. Welcome home.
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The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control.
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I like naturally occurring film grain, and what happens to film when it's under- and over-exposed.
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Private education can give you confidence, which is marvellous; a sense of entitlement isn't.
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Over recent years, urbanisation, globalisation and the destruction of local cultures has led to a rise in the prevalence of mental illness in the developing world.
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My family had a business where they worked with gravestones, and I remember growing up and playing in cemeteries like it was a normal playground.
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I worked in the family business, which was my father's shoe making company that he had inherited from his father, and that led me to become interested in what could be achieved by a great Italian brand. That became my ambition as a young man.
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In giving you are throwing a bridge across the chasm of your solitude.
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When you start losing market share, it's really tough to gain it back; you need the product portfolio and presence in many markets.
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I assume as a writer that most of the time I'm going to fall down and fail.
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Here is my wish for you and every other child, woman, and man on the face of the earth: Spend one week saying only kind, caring things to yourself. Say thank you at least ten times an hour, direct five toward yourself and five to the world at large. Compliment yourself (and others) each time an effort is made. Notice all the wonderful qualities and characteristics about yourself and those around you. One week. You will never go back. And your whole life will be a glorious meditation.
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I write between 5.30am and 9.00. That way, I hope I carry over something from my dream time.
