Jack Waters

“While the two words often arrive sutured together, I think it worthwhile to breathe some space between them, so that one might see “brutal honesty” not as a more forceful version of honesty itself, but as one possible use of honesty. One that doesn’t necessarily lay truth barer by dint of force, but that actually overlays something on top of it—something that can get in its way. That something is cruelty.”
― Maggie Nelson, The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning

“Most of the cruelty in the world is just misplaced energy.”
― Zadie Smith, On Beauty

“All divisions in religion arise from ignorance of grammar.”
― Joseph Justus Scaliger

“Stepping aside from the culture of opinion, delving deeper into open-minded analysis, critics might fulfill their most important function: locating major works that are not always visible in mainstream networks.”
― Stephen J. Burn