I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young.

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find...

My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find...

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

Curiously, the United States is full of writers who have one big work in their...

Curiously, the United States is full of writers who have one big work in their...

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of...

If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of...

You have to expect the raps when you have achieved popularity as a writer.

You have to expect the raps when you have achieved popularity as a writer.

Every novelist has a different purpose - and often several purposes which might even be...

Every novelist has a different purpose - and often several purposes which might even be...

I cringe when critics say I'm a master of the popular novel. What's an unpopular...

I cringe when critics say I'm a master of the popular novel. What's an unpopular...

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house,...

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house,...

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

Isaac Singer was born in Poland and doesn't write in English. Still, he's an American.

Isaac Singer was born in Poland and doesn't write in English. Still, he's an American.

The writer works in a lonely way.

The writer works in a lonely way.

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

Writing is finally play, and there's no reason why you should get paid for playing.

Writing is finally play, and there's no reason why you should get paid for playing.

Posterity makes the judgments. There are going to be a lot of surprises in store...

Posterity makes the judgments. There are going to be a lot of surprises in store...

I don't think that the writer is regarded as a freak by Americans.

I don't think that the writer is regarded as a freak by Americans.

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

All writers are the same - they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one...

All writers are the same - they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one...

In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk...

In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk...

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.