But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of his verse, the poet walks gagged through his own biography.

Quote by John Updike

Topics: John Updike Quotes

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...

Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face. As soon as one is aware...

Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face. As soon as one is aware...

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

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

Our brains are no longer conditioned for reverence and awe. We cannot imagine a Second...

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

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

America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy.

America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy.

Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have...

Existence itself does not feel horrible; it feels like an ecstasy, rather, which we have...

Truth should not be forced; it should simply manifest itself, like a woman who has...

Truth should not be forced; it should simply manifest itself, like a woman who has...

To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a...

To be President of the United States, sir, is to act as advocate for a...

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

Sex is like money; only too much is enough.

I love my government not least for the extent to which it leaves me alone.

I love my government not least for the extent to which it leaves me alone.

Four years was enough of Harvard. I still had a lot to learn, but had...

Four years was enough of Harvard. I still had a lot to learn, but had...

A narrative is like a room on whose walls a number of false doors have...

A narrative is like a room on whose walls a number of false doors have...

There's a crystallization that goes on in a poem which the young man can bring...

There's a crystallization that goes on in a poem which the young man can bring...

Writers take words seriously-perhaps the last professional class that does-and they struggle to steer their...

Writers take words seriously-perhaps the last professional class that does-and they struggle to steer their...

The essential support and encouragement comes from within, arising out of the mad notion that...

The essential support and encouragement comes from within, arising out of the mad notion that...

Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying

Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying

I don't expect you'll hear me writing any poems to the greater glory of Ronald...

I don't expect you'll hear me writing any poems to the greater glory of Ronald...

There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an...

There is an art of reading, as well as an art of thinking, and an...

I began to ration my writing, for fear I would dream through life as my...

I began to ration my writing, for fear I would dream through life as my...