Writerly Life Quotes

“The difference between a simpleton and an intelligent man, according to the man who is convinced that he is of the latter category, is that the former wholeheartedly accepts all things that he sees and hears while the latter never admits anything except after a most searching scrutiny. He imagines his intelligence to be a sieve of closely woven mesh through which nothing but the finest can pass. ”
― R. K. Narayan

“We always question the bonafides of the man who tells us unpleasant facts.”
― R. K. Narayan

“No one ever accepts criticism so cheerfully. Neither the man who utters it nor the man who invites it really means it.”
― R. K. Narayan

“If someone should ask, "how should an Opposition function?" the best answer would be, "in the manner of a traditional mother-in-law who watches the performance of household work by a daughter-in-law and follows her about with her comments.”
― R. K. Narayan

“Writing nonfiction means I tell people's stories for them, not because they're special but because we all are.”
― Jo Deurbrouck