Denialandavoidance

“You want to know what Classics are?" said a drunk Dean of Admissions to me at a faculty party a couple of years ago. "I'll tell you what Classics are. Wars and homos.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

“The politics of inevitability is an intellectual coma we put ourselves in.”
― Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

“How can I teach her
some way of being human
that won't destroy her

I would like to tell her, Love
is enough, I would like to say,
Find shelter in another skin.

I would like to say, Dance
and be happy. Instead I will say
in my crone’s voice, Be
ruthless when you have to, tell
the truth when you can,
when you can see it.”
― Margaret Atwood, Two-Headed Poems

“I’ve been accused of having a death wish but I think it’s life that I wish for, terribly, shamelessly, on any terms whatsoever.”
― Tennessee Williams, Sweet Bird of Youth