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

Quote by John Updike

Topics: John Updike Quotes

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...

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.

What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.

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

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

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

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...

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...

Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the...

Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the...

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.

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...

It is not difficult to deceive the first time, for the deceived possesses no antibodies;...

It is not difficult to deceive the first time, for the deceived possesses no antibodies;...

For male and female alike, the bodies of the other sex are messages signaling what...

For male and female alike, the bodies of the other sex are messages signaling what...

Americans have been conditioned to respect newness, whatever it costs them.

Americans have been conditioned to respect newness, whatever it costs them.

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...

Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare...

Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare...

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

But for a few phrases from his letters and an odd line or two of...

School is where you go between when your parents can't take you, and industry can't...

School is where you go between when your parents can't take you, and industry can't...

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.

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...

I will never outgrow hopping on the back of a shopping cart and riding it...

I will never outgrow hopping on the back of a shopping cart and riding it...

Our whole life is but a greater and longer childhood

Our whole life is but a greater and longer childhood