Years ago I used to think it was possible for a novelist to alter the inner life of the culture. Now bomb-makers and gunman have taken that territory. They make raids on human consciousness. What writers used to do before…

Quote by Don DeLillo

Topics: Writers Quotes

There's never a dearth of reasons to shoot at the President.

There's never a dearth of reasons to shoot at the President.

Hardship makes the world obscure.

Hardship makes the world obscure.

The language of my books has shaped me as a man.

The language of my books has shaped me as a man.

I've always seen myself in sentences. I begin to recognize myself, word by word, as...

I've always seen myself in sentences. I begin to recognize myself, word by word, as...

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of...

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of...

People who are powerless make an open theater of violence.

People who are powerless make an open theater of violence.

I've always liked being relatively obscure. I feel that's where I belong, that's where my...

I've always liked being relatively obscure. I feel that's where I belong, that's where my...

The modern meaning of life's end-when does it end? How does it end? How should...

The modern meaning of life's end-when does it end? How does it end? How should...

I think it's only in a crisis that Americans see other people. It has to...

I think it's only in a crisis that Americans see other people. It has to...

A Catholic is raised with the idea that he will die any minute now and...

A Catholic is raised with the idea that he will die any minute now and...

When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It...

When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It...

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential, but in a society that's...

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential, but in a society that's...

The future belongs to crowds.

The future belongs to crowds.

In the face of technology, everything becomes a little atavistic.

In the face of technology, everything becomes a little atavistic.

Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we...

Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we...

I think there is a sense of last things in my work that probably comes...

I think there is a sense of last things in my work that probably comes...

Men with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to...

Men with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to...

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is dead....

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is dead....

Silence, exile, cunning and so on... it's my nature to keep quiet about most things....

Silence, exile, cunning and so on... it's my nature to keep quiet about most things....

It's no accident that my first novel was called Americana. This was a private declaration...

It's no accident that my first novel was called Americana. This was a private declaration...