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

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

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...

I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself.

I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself.

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.

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...

Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously,...

Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously,...

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...

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

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...

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

The writer works in a lonely way.

The writer works in a lonely way.

I've gone on the wagon, but my body doesn't believe it.

I've gone on the wagon, but my body doesn't believe it.

At the height of the McCarthy period, writers were being hounded.

At the height of the McCarthy period, writers were being hounded.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

In America, we have the feeling of the doomed young artist. Fitzgerald was the great...

In America, we have the feeling of the doomed young artist. Fitzgerald was the great...

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

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

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

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.

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...

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.