The only thing that exists is torment, lyricism, and the magnificence of language.

Quote by John Hawkes

Topics: John Hawkes Quotes

I was not typical. Whatever typical or normal is, I was somehow separated and different.

I was not typical. Whatever typical or normal is, I was somehow separated and different.

I want prose fiction to be recognized as that, and I'm not interested in writing...

I want prose fiction to be recognized as that, and I'm not interested in writing...

My mother wanted very much to play tennis; she wanted, most of all, to be...

My mother wanted very much to play tennis; she wanted, most of all, to be...

I do not feel an exile from America in any sense.

I do not feel an exile from America in any sense.

I remember my mother finding mud somehow and putting it on the sting.

I remember my mother finding mud somehow and putting it on the sting.

It's hard to tell whether the ship or airplane - they're all the same, I'm...

It's hard to tell whether the ship or airplane - they're all the same, I'm...

Really, I didn't like Alaska. It rained, almost every day, at least 300 days out...

Really, I didn't like Alaska. It rained, almost every day, at least 300 days out...

I didn't for a moment doubt the choice, but if life is ever fearsome, it...

I didn't for a moment doubt the choice, but if life is ever fearsome, it...

When we lived in Juneau, Alaska, it was a town of about 7,000 people, and...

When we lived in Juneau, Alaska, it was a town of about 7,000 people, and...

My father's parents were Irish. Only a year before my father died, he and I...

My father's parents were Irish. Only a year before my father died, he and I...

Fiction is an act of revenge

Fiction is an act of revenge

In The Lime Twig I took two very young people and made them very old.

In The Lime Twig I took two very young people and made them very old.

To be anywhere near an enormous ocean liner when you are just like a fish...

To be anywhere near an enormous ocean liner when you are just like a fish...

I didn't know what kind of jobs, because how was I prepared? At best, I...

I didn't know what kind of jobs, because how was I prepared? At best, I...

I used to carry about with me a German map-case filled with poems.

I used to carry about with me a German map-case filled with poems.

I had to go to Sunday school once or twice in my life, and that's...

I had to go to Sunday school once or twice in my life, and that's...

On the night before we were married, all of the anxiety in the world came...

On the night before we were married, all of the anxiety in the world came...

I'm only interested in fiction that in some way or other voices the very imagination...

I'm only interested in fiction that in some way or other voices the very imagination...

When I started writing fiction, I knew how good it was immediately.

When I started writing fiction, I knew how good it was immediately.