Four years was enough of Harvard. I still had a lot to learn, but had been given the liberating notion that now I could teach myself.

Quote by John Updike

Topics: John Updike Quotes

Every marriage tends to consist of an aristocrat and a peasant. Of a teacher and...

Every marriage tends to consist of an aristocrat and a peasant. Of a teacher and...

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a...

When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a...

It was one of history's great love stories, the mutually profitable romance which Hollywood and...

It was one of history's great love stories, the mutually profitable romance which Hollywood and...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

Now that I am sixty, I see why the idea of elder wisdom has passed...

Now that I am sixty, I see why the idea of elder wisdom has passed...

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

Each morning my characters greet me with misty faces willing, though chilled, to muster for...

Each morning my characters greet me with misty faces willing, though chilled, to muster for...

By the time a partnership dissolves, it has dissolved.

By the time a partnership dissolves, it has dissolved.

The creative writer uses his life as well as being its victim; he can control,...

The creative writer uses his life as well as being its victim; he can control,...

Being naked approaches being revolutionary; going barefoot is mere populism.

Being naked approaches being revolutionary; going barefoot is mere populism.

Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them

Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them

An affair wants to spill, to share its glory with the world. No act is...

An affair wants to spill, to share its glory with the world. No act is...

From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the...

From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the...

We take our bearings, daily, from others. To be sane is, to a great extent,...

We take our bearings, daily, from others. To be sane is, to a great extent,...

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving...

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving...

Most of us women like men, you know; it's just that we find them a...

Most of us women like men, you know; it's just that we find them a...

It's no trifle at her time of life to part with a doctor who knows...

It's no trifle at her time of life to part with a doctor who knows...

All that I really have to recount are observations and notes made during the course...

All that I really have to recount are observations and notes made during the course...