The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.

Quote by John Updike

Topics: John Updike Quotes

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take...

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.

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...

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...

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would...

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop.

Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life.

Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life.

Many men are more faithful to their golf partners than to their wives and have...

Many men are more faithful to their golf partners than to their wives and have...

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...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions,...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would...

Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad; hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial...

Natural beauty is essentially temporary and sad; hence the impression of obscene mockery which artificial...

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...

Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately

Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately

The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of...

The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of...

When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a...

When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a...

Every marriage tends to consist of an aristocrat and a peasant. Of a teacher and...

Every marriage tends to consist of an aristocrat and a peasant. Of a teacher and...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself...