Then no matter where you are, in a crowded restaurant or on some desolate street or even in the comforts of your own home, you'll watch yourself dismantle every assurance you ever lived by. You'll stand aside as a great complexity intrudes, tearing apart, piece by piece, all your carefully conceived denials, whether deliberate or unconscious. And for better or worse you'll turn, unable to resist, though try to resist you still will, fighting with everything you've got not to face the thing you most dread, what is now, what will be, what has always come before, the creature you truly are, the creature we all are, buried in the nameless black of a name. And then the nightmares will begin.
Mark Z. Danielewski
Related This much I'm certain of: it doesn't happen immediately. You'll finish [the book] and that will be t... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI If you don't have a code of ethics or moral principles that you live by no matter what the consequen... MAURICE W. LINDSAY Whether you are man or woman, rich or poor, dependent or free, happy or unhappy; whether you bore in... SøREN KIERKEGAARD Will the future bring your wisdom to me? Or will darkness rule the kingdom for all eternity? NOSTRADAMUS What will make you a star is in you SOTONYE ANGA If you have no faith in yourself, then have faith in the things you call truth. You know what must b... PATRICIA A. MCKILLIP I think there is something for all of us where you find a balance in your life, where you feel that ... WENDIE MALICK INTEREST. Here is the key to the whole thing. If and when you are truly interested in what you are d... RALPH ALFRED HABAS I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made ... RALPH WALDO EMERSON Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will... JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI Why is it that all individuals today, at least all who are socially conscious, are in one way or ano... OLAF STAPLEDON I think there is something for all of us where you find a balance in your life, where you feel that ... WENDIE MALICK And it was pointless...to think how those years could have been put to better use, for he could hard... CHARLES FRAZIER You don't think I could bring myself to mark your lovely skin? I'll take my knife to you, if that's ... NENIA CAMPBELL Stand up to crises. Don't let them throw you! Fight to stay calm... even surmount the crisis complet... MAXWELL MALTZ Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its root... RAINER MARIA RILKE The secret of success is to try always to improve yourself no matter where you are or what your situ... JONATHAN A. DUBLIN How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the... EPICTETUS Who you are is not determined by what you wear, the money in your wallet, nor how you look. Who you ... MARY KATE The glance of women resembles certain combinations of wheels, which are tranquil in appearance yet f... VICTOR HUGO No matter how great you are at what you do, as long as you remain known only within your own family ... ARCHIBALD MARWIZI Youll never know how strong you truly are, until u get under some weight. EULLYS "JEWELZ" HINNANT III Intriguing isn't it? One day you are the king of your world. And the next day, you stand aside, watc... ALEENA YASIN Peer pressure is something everyone will face in school. You have to really go by what you think is ... MADISEN BEATY Youll never get mixed up if you simply tell the truth. Then you dont have to remember what you have ... SAM RAYBURN Each of you, for himself or herself, by himself or herself, and on his or her own responsibility, mu... MARK TWAIN And as you come to know Him, you're becoming like Him. The more you are like Him, the more different... CRAIG GROESCHEL What will happen when my heart stops beating?" Momo asked. When that moment comes," said the pr... MICHAEL ENDE See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find y... ECKHART TOLLE Save your ass, give my ass.... what a friend you are... DEYTH BANGER I like to open for a band as it brings on sort of a challenge and it makes things more interesting. ... KELLY JONES When you are rich and powerful, no one will challenge you to your face or give you a chance to expla... AMANDA QUICK You say you are a nameless man. You are not to your wife and to your child. You will not long remain... RICHARD FEYNMAN The most important relationship in the world is the bond that you share with your own self. Are you ... MANPRIT KAUR You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside; You are the person who ... EDGAR A. GUEST There comes a point when you either embrace who and what you are, or condemn yourself to be miserabl... LAURELL K. HAMILTON You do not have a mind belongs to yourself! Your thoughts are the thoughts of your culture! When you... MEHMET MURAT ILDAN But if you are a poor creature--poisoned by a wretched up-bringing in some house full of vulgar jeal... C.S. LEWIS No matter how efficient you try to be, there will always be a chance that the people you work with o... DR ANIL KUMAR SINHA You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself and you will not be sure of what you are... EMILY CARR So you wish to conquer in the Olympic games, my friend? And I too, by the Gods, and a fine thing it ... EPICTETUS I will love you always. When this red hair is white, I will still love you. When the smooth softness... LAURELL K. HAMILTON You are honest enough by nature to be able to see and judge your own self clearly - and that is a gr... ENID BLYTON The story goes as the line follow... alone... loony.... ... That's what's happening.... DEYTH BANGER Many are of the mindset that a door will open for them one day. That is great, but what if no door o... OSCAR BIMPONG But there must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away "blindly" so to speak. C... C.S. LEWIS I will love you always. When this red hair is white, I will still love you. When the smooth so... LAURELL K. HAMILTON When you try to talk about yourself, you dont know who you are, or what your like, or what your like... CAROL CHANNING Even when you do nothing, you are doing something. Be aware of your decisions and what they mean for... ARMAND MEVIS You can purify your existence by feeling deep within yourself a beautiful rose or lotus, or any othe... SRI CHINMOY If you cannot read Shakespeare, or Melville, or Toni Morrison because it will trigger something trau... BRET EASTON ELLIS But how?" my students ask. "How do you actually do it?" You sit down, I say. You try to sit do... ANNE LAMOTT Every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses,... C. S. LEWIS It's your weakness gives them their strength. Mark how they dare not speak to me. A nameless horror ... JEAN-PAUL SARTRE Life is a lot easier when you make peace with yourself. When you forgive yourself. When you stop tor... AKIROQ BROST Love yourself! You don’t need a man or a boy or a self-proclaimed love expert to tell you what you... AMY SCHUMER To lovers out there.... If he tells you “ Stop working, stop studying, stop dreaming, s... DE PHILOSOPHER DJ KYOS You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself and you will not be sure of what you are... EMILY CARR The people who are your friends before you got the crown are the people who are going to be your bes... MEG CABOT It makes no sense to compare yourself with others because there will always be better & worse people... PABLO VALLE At whatever point in life you're at; nothing is good or bad, and nothing is ultimately right or wron... TURYASINGURA NELSON DERRICK Toxic relationships are dangerous to your health; they will literally kill you. Stress shortens your... BRYANT MCGILL Woman, where are they? Has no one judged you guilty?" She answers "No one, sir." Then Jesu... MAX LUCADO You don't believe that your friend could ever do anything great. You despise yourself in secret, eve... WILHELM REICH What will you do with your self? Many men and women are still in darkness, trying to figure out the ... K.P. YOHANNAN Whether you sweep the toilet of a school or you make cloths. Whether you take pictures of dancers or... EMI IYALLA Empathy is the new measurement of everything. It doesn't matter what religion you have, what God you... C. JOYBELL C. In your life time you will be criticized by others and they're opinion either to bring you down or m... MATTHEW WAYNE GAULIN I don't just want a piece of you and a piece of your life. Even if you were able, which you are not,... WILLIAM PAUL YOUNG What really annoys me very often is when People start comparing two individuals. This clearly indica... RAMANA PEMMARAJU To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge... ECKHART TOLLE Make good choices. The environment in which you dwell can have a high influence on what you will ach... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR The moment will arrive when you are comfortable with who you are, and what you are– bald or old or... CHARLES B. HANDY Use your heart. Understand. Learn to see things in the now, not as they were or will be, or as ... E.J. PATTEN Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You h... ALAN ALDA Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You h... ALAN ALDA No matter how close, you are always too far My eyes are drawn everywhere you are. I... CORA CARMACK We talk about wanting to change the world, and we often picture this as a lofty goal reached only by... ROSIE BLYTHE Before you fall asleep take stock of your day. Ask yourself whether it was well spent or was it wast... LATIKA TEOTIA Sometimes you have to be empty. That is one thing I have truly learned in all the rebuilding project... DICK BENNETT In a day and age where it seems like women want to be with unstable, psychotic, manipulative freaks;... C. JOYBELL C. Sometimes you have step out of yourself and really watch what is going on in front of you like you a... NERISSA IRVING Better associations __________________ If you associate yourself with a change maker... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR Better Associations: If you associate yourself with a change maker, Your life will b... ISRAELMORE AYIVOR Your most precious memories will focus on those you loved, those who loved you, and what you did tog... JAMES C. DOBSON Your success in life... will not be measured by the money you make or the degrees you earn, but rath... WILLIAM SEARS One day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65, you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in y... BEAU TAPLIN We don’t have to take rejection as a reflection of our self-worth. If somebody who is important (o... MELODY BEATTIE Whether you listen to a piece of music, or a poem, or look at a picture or a jug, or a piece of scul... BASIL BUNTING ... so this is for us. This is for us who sing, write, dance, act, study, run and love and... CHARLOTTE ERIKSSON You are always afraid that somebody may think you a fool. You are afraid that if others think you to... OSHO There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is all that you w... TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Note to self; nobody will ever invest more in you then yourself.
So why are you trusting the hand of... SCOTTIE SOMERS Commemoration of Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu, Evangelist, Teacher, 1929 For the first two or thr... SADHU SUNDAR SINGH Think twice or more before you start doing something for someone, it may be a good thing what you wa... NISHI DE SILVA I've come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call "The Physics of The Quest" �... ELIZABETH GILBERT But one day, you will be faced with a choice, as we all are. One day you will have to choose between... SAMANTHA SHANNON No matter how high and far your urine goes ahead of you, the last drop still falls under your feet. ... THE INSPIRATIONIST [Australia] is the home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the lar... BILL BRYSON I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. T... COLUM MCCANN
More Mark Z. Danielewski
Write what you love. Love will hold you through the hard times and hold the world during the good ti... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Who has never killed an hour? Not casually or without thought, but carefully: a premeditated murder ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI At the heart of any terror is the fear of losing what we find meaningful. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Anger is one way to respond to fear. I say one way because responses are categorically multiple. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI The greatest of love letters are always coded for the one and not the many. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI By now you've probably noticed that except when safely contained by quotes, Zampanò always steers c... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI The ruminations are mine, let the world be yours. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI You'll be sick or feeling troubled or deeply in love or quietly uncertain or even content for the fi... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI No one ever really gets used to nightmares. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI And where there is no Echo there is no description of space or love. There is only silence. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Here then at long last is my darkness. No cry of light, no glimmer, not even the faintest shard of h... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Some people reflect light, some deflect it, you by some miracle, seem to collect it. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI ...and there you have it, another body on the floor surrounded by things that don't mean much to any... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Love of love written by the broken hearted, love of life written by the dead. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI What miracle is this? This giant tree. It stands ten thousand feet high But doesn't reach ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Prometheus, thief of light, giver of light, bound by the gods, must have been a book. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI I took my morning walk, I took my evening walk, I ate something, I thought about something, I wrote,... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Why did god create a dual universe? So he might say ‘Be not like me. I am alone.' A... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI I am not a fool. I am wise. I will run from my fear, I will outdistance my fear, then I will hide fr... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Losing the possibility of something is the exact same thing as losing hope and without hope nothing ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Sublime is something you choke on after a shot of tequila. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI For some reason, you will no longer be the person you believed you once were. You'll detect slow and... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Scars are the paler pain of survival received unwillingly and displayed in the language of injury. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI I still get nightmares. In fact, I get them so often I should be used to them by now. I'm not. No on... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI This is not for you. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI You shall be my roots and I will be your shade, though the sun burns my leaves. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI We all create stories to protect ourselves. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Little solace comes to those who grieve when thoughts keep drifting as walls keep shi... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI It may be the wrong decision, but fuck it, it's mine. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI This much I'm certain of: it doesn't happen immediately. You'll finish [the book] and that will be t... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Who has never killed an hour? Not casually or without thought, but carefully: a premeditated murder ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI I'm a big believer in big books, and that doesn't necessarily mean long books. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Passion has little to do with euphoria and everything to do with patience. It is not about feeling g... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI the seriousness of emotional deprivation: It is not difficult to understand how children ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Physics depends on a universe infinitely centred on an equals sign. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI In the end Navidson is left with one page and one match. For a long time he waits in darkness and co... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Two kisses in one kiss was all it took, a comfort, a warmth, perhaps temporary, perhaps false, but r... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Youth always tries to fill the void, an old man learns to live with it. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI ...life's big. If you can't fix it, give it a spin. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Because the enormous narcissism of their parents deprived Will and Tom of suitable role models, both... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Her smile, I'm sure, burnt Rome to the ground. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI You wouldn't believe how much harder it's getting for me to just leave my studio. It's really sad. I... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Absolutely nothing visible to the eye provides a reason for or even evidence of those terrifying shi... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Beautiful women are always drawn to men they think will keep them beautiful. MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Explanation is not half as strong as experience but experience is not half as strong as experience a... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI People frequently comment on the emptiness in one night stands, but emptiness here has always been j... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Even the brightest magnesium flare can do little against such dark except blind the eyes of the one ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI Of course there always will be darkness but I realize now something inhabits it. Historical or not. ... MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI If our nation wants to reduce global warming, air pollution and energy instability, we should invest... MARK Z. JACOBSON Every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar... MARK Z. JACOBSON You can power the entire U.S. vehicle fleet with 73,000 to 145,000 five-megawatt wind turbines. That... MARK Z. JACOBSON You could power America with renewables from a technical and economic standpoint. The biggest obstac... MARK Z. JACOBSON Rap for me is like making movies, telling stories, and getting the emotions of the songs through in ... JAY-Z My mom had early rap records, like Jimmy Spicer. In the middle of the records was a turntable and a ... JAY-Z I'm a mirror. If you're cool with me, I'm cool with you, and the exchange starts. What y... JAY-Z Successful people have a bigger fear of failure than people who've never done anything because i... JAY-Z I collect art, and I drink wine... things that I like that I had never been exposed to. But I never ... JAY-Z Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama... JAY-Z One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That... JAY-Z I don't sit around with my friends and talk about money, ever. On a record, that's different... JAY-Z All my businesses are part of the culture, so I have to stay true to whatever I'm feeling at the... JAY-Z It's hilarious a lot of times. You have a conversation with someone, and he's like, 'You... JAY-Z I'm far from being god, but I work god damn hard. JAY-Z The burden of poverty isn't just that you don't always have the things you need, it's th... JAY-Z I treat people based on who they really are, not the name. Everyone has to be respectful and be a hu... JAY-Z I love what I do, and when you love what you do, you want to be the best at it. JAY-Z Your job is to inspire people from your neighborhood to get out. JAY-Z I've never looked at myself and said that I need to be a certain way to be around a certain sort... JAY-Z Belief in oneself and knowing who you are, I mean, that's the foundation for everything great. JAY-Z Excellence is being able to perform at a high level over and over again. You can hit a half-court sh... JAY-Z It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire ... JAY-Z I grew up in Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and my mom and pop had an extensive record collection, so M... JAY-Z If just the presence of Tidal causes other companies to have better pay structure or to pay more att... JAY-Z It was a weird mix of emotions. One day, your best friend could be killed. The day before, you could... JAY-Z I'm hungry for knowledge. The whole thing is to learn every day, to get brighter and brighter. T... JAY-Z The average rap life is two or three albums. You're lucky to get to your second album in rap! JAY-Z When the TV version of Annie came on, I was drawn to it. It was the struggle of this poor kid in thi... JAY-Z I think in London - and I don't wanna offend anybody in America, but this is a real statement - ... JAY-Z That's why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to a... JAY-Z I've got a nice collection of paintings - a Basquiat, a black-and-white Warhol that's like a... JAY-Z I was forced to be an artist and a CEO from the beginning, so I was forced to be like a businessman ... JAY-Z I've talked to Bill Clinton - he's the ultimate rock star; no one's more charming than h... JAY-Z I didn't go to many movies. My mom would make a family outing and bring chicken in the theater. ... JAY-Z It wasn't until sixth grade, at P.S. 168, when my teacher took us on a field trip to her house t... JAY-Z I try to make music with emotion and integrity. And authenticity. You can feel when something's ... JAY-Z Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I ... JAY-Z The burden of poverty isn't just that you don't always have the things you need: it's th... JAY-Z As kids we didn't complain about being poor; we talked about how rich we were going to be and ma... JAY-Z I think it's very important for hip-hop, when an artist reaches a certain level, to ascend to ex... JAY-Z Politics - I still think it's a bunch of liars and a bunch of self-interest. It's not about ... JAY-Z I'll make a song with Rick Rubin, a song with Beyonce, a song with Lenny Kravitz. I just believe... JAY-Z Hip-hop is more about attaining wealth. People respect success. They respect big. They don't eve... JAY-Z Providing - that's not love. Being there - that's more important. I mean, we see that. We se... JAY-Z I'm just saying the producers and people who work on music are getting left out - that's whe... JAY-Z Hip-hop gave a generation a common ground that didn't require either race to lose anything; everyone... JAY-Z Rap has been a path between cultures in the best tradition of popular music. JAY-Z You could name practically any problem in the hood and there'd be a rap song for you. JAY-Z A poet's mission is to make words do more work than they normally do, to make them work on more than... JAY-Z Only God can judge me so I'm gone, either love me or leave me alone. JAY-Z I got love for Damon Dash as I did before. I don't know if we can be around each other in that w... JAY-Z I can think of no one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon Def Jam'... JAY-Z Around 20. I'd been trying to transition from the streets to the music business, but I would mak... JAY-Z Successful people have a bigger fear of failure than people who've never done anything because i... JAY-Z What people have to understand is 'Billboard' is a magazine. They're like elected offici... JAY-Z Biggie was the King Of New York as a rapper. There's a lot more dangerous guys than Biggie Small... JAY-Z I'd rather die enormous than live dormant. JAY-Z He who does not feel me is not real to me, therefore he does not exist. So, poof... vamoose, son of ... JAY-Z If you look at my career and you look at the span of my work and the things I have done, as far as t... JAY-Z The day Obama got into office, rap was less important because Obama gave kids an alternative. But wi... JAY-Z I was a really good student. In the sixth grade, I was reading at a twelfth grade reading level. But... JAY-Z When Basquiat was hanging out with Madonna and Fab Five Freddy, and all those worlds were colliding,... JAY-Z I was an artist, I was executive producer on my first album, so I've always had to manage both. ... JAY-Z Hip-hop has done so much for racial relations, and I don't think it's given the proper credi... JAY-Z I've said the election of Obama has made the hustler less relevant. People took it in a way that... JAY-Z Nothing me and Kanye can do musically was gonna match the event of what we were trying to do. So we ... JAY-Z I listen to everything - from Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette all the way down to rap like Sca... JAY-Z For me, being with Obama or having dinner with Bill Clinton... it's crazy. It's mind-blowing... JAY-Z They say a midget standing on a giant's shoulders can see much further than the giant. So I got ... JAY-Z Primarily I see myself as so much more than a rapper. I really believe I am the voice for a lot of p... JAY-Z Companies that pretend to care about music and really care about other things - whether it be hardwa... JAY-Z No matter where you go, you are what you are playa JAY-Z They say a midget standing on a giant's shoulders can see much further than the giant. So I got the ... JAY-Z Can I live? JAY-Z Hip-hop has done more for race relations than most cultural icons; and I say save Martin Luther King... JAY-Z I don't profess to be a political rapper, like groups such as 'Dead Prez' or 'Public... JAY-Z I think that's what happened to the record business when 'Napster' came around. The indu... JAY-Z If I go into a studio and find my truth of the moment, there are a number of people in the world who... JAY-Z I've always believed in good music over bad music. I believe in two sorts of musics. And the lin... JAY-Z Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama... JAY-Z May the best of your today, be the worst of your tomorrow. JAY Z May the best of your today, be the worst of your tommorrow. JAY Z My first album was mainly dealing with street issues, and it was 'coded': it was called '... JAY-Z I am against discrimination of any kind, but if I make snap judgments, no matter who it's toward... JAY-Z As an artist, you make music. And if you see people who don't know how to market your music, you... JAY-Z I have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop, Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. Reid and Univ... JAY-Z Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational. It always broke that notion that an artist ... JAY-Z Racism is taught in the home. We agree on that? Well, it's very hard to teach racism to a teenag... JAY-Z When you're growing up, your dad is your superhero. Once you've let yourself fall that in lo... JAY-Z No, I'm not interested in politics. I have zero interest. I have interest in hope and people. JAY-Z I remember the first time I saw the 'Sugarhill Gang' on Soul Train. I was 11 or 12. I was li... JAY-Z When I came into the music, I was forced to be a CEO. I was forced to be an entrepreneur; I was forc... JAY-Z I don't think any rapper can go back. You can be a car salesman, a bank teller - I mean, really ... JAY-Z I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, 'Rap is a young man's ga... JAY-Z And all you other cats throwin' shots at Jigga, | You only get half a bar: fuck y'all niggaz. JAY-Z I'm a hustler, baby; I sell water to a well! JAY-Z You know the type: loud as a motorbike but wouldn't bust a grape in a fruit fight. JAY-Z The art of rap is deceptive. It seems so straightforward and personal and real that people read it c... JAY-Z I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man! JAY-Z I don't know where streaming will go in the future. The analytics that we're seeing tell us ... JAY-Z I would run into the corner store, the bodega, and just grab a paper bag or buy juice - anything jus... JAY-Z It's always been most important for me to figure out "my space" rather than trying to check out what... JAY-Z I'm here to tell niggas it ain't all swell. There's Heaven then there's Hell niggas One da... JAY-Z He slid her a skeptical look. “What is that?” She almost laughed at the suspicion in his fa... Z. ROCKWARD No matter how advanced the technology, sometimes things just needed a good knock. Z. ROCKWARD I learned to ride a ten-speed when I was 4 or 5. My uncle gave me the bike, hand-me-down, and everyo... JAY-Z I think of myself as a plain human being who happens to be an American. LAURA Z. HOBSON I grew up in an agnostic broad-minded family. LAURA Z. HOBSON The continuous invention of new ways of observing is man's special secret of living. J. Z. YOUNG One of the best parts of being a writer means that researching all kinds of cool stuff actually coun... GAIL Z. MARTIN Getting to share the stories in my head with other people and have them enjoy those stories, and hav... GAIL Z. MARTIN The 370-year-old antique shop Trifles and Folly is the heart of 'Deadly Curiosities,' my new... GAIL Z. MARTIN I always send new writers to 'Writer's Digest Books' line-up of how-to books. I read the... GAIL Z. MARTIN My father loved antique shops and shows, and quite a bit of my childhood involved outings to dim, du... GAIL Z. MARTIN I grew up around old stuff that was not necessarily valuable, but certainly unusual. GAIL Z. MARTIN I call myself, 'The Estee Lauder of the garden world.' I'm my own little conglomerate. C. Z. GUEST The most important thing is to enjoy yourself and have a good time. C. Z. GUEST What I don't understand is these people who go on the street wearing riding clothes, and they ha... C. Z. GUEST All the girls today want to be famous, but they haven't earned their spurs. C. Z. GUEST I like the classic look. Keep it simple. There's only so much you can wear. C. Z. GUEST If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have ta... P. Z. PEARCE The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4am knows all my secrets. POPPY Z. BRITE When the great white silence comes and fills the boughs of the trees with a thickening, glistening b... J. Z. KNIGHT It takes a kind of shabby arrogance to survive in our time, and a fairly romantic nature to want to. EDGAR Z. FRIEDENBERG I've always felt that having a garden is like having a good and loyal friend. C. Z. GUEST Some nights are made for torture, or reflection, or the savoring of loneliness. POPPY Z. BRITE New Orleans cuisine is Creole rather than Cajun. POPPY Z. BRITE All weakness tends to corrupt, and impotence corrupts absolutely. EDGAR Z. FREIDENBERG My childhood may have been more demented than most, because I learned to read very early and was all... POPPY Z. BRITE Yeah, I think A Confederacy of Dunces is probably the perfect New Orleans book. POPPY Z. BRITE What we must decide is perhaps how we are valuable, rather than how valuable we are. EDGAR Z. FRIEDENBERG The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles. SIGMUND Z. ENGEL In high school I was the dog, always, and I never have felt comfortable or right in my body, and par... POPPY Z. BRITE This is the point being missed by readers who lament Liquor's lack of hot sex scenes, probably b... POPPY Z. BRITE In France, for instance, one magazine writer was convinced that On The Road had been a huge influenc... POPPY Z. BRITE No one has ever done anything too bad to be forgiven R. Z. SHEPPARD At some point you have to start letting people save their own life. POPPY Z. BRITE An able practitioner of glitz lit. R. Z. SHEPPARD Not only do most people accept violence if it is perpetrated by legitimate authority, they also rega... EDGAR Z. FRIEDENBERG An old man loved is winter with flowers. EDGAR Z. FRIEDENBERG [Ken] Kesey practices what has come to be known as gonzo journalism. The reporter, often intoxicated... R. Z. SHEPPARD His reserve of disdain appears endless. He could no sooner shut it off than a vampire could forgo hi... R. Z. SHEPPARD The 'teenager' seems to have replaced the Communist as the appropriate target for public controversy... EDGAR Z. FRIEDENBERG The short story is like an old friend who calls whenever he is in town. We are happy to hear from it... R. Z. SHEPPARD It was like discovering that your innermost fires and terrors, the things you believed no one else c... POPPY Z. BRITE The San Francisco Bay Area [is] the playpen of countercultures. R. Z. SHEPPARD And I can't think of a reason I'd ever use a pseudonym, as I wouldn't want to publish so... POPPY Z. BRITE Let the night come. We are not afraid. POPPY Z. BRITE The last dying days of summer, fall coming on fast. A cold night, the first of the season, a change ... POPPY Z. BRITE Much of the story we have told falls outside the boundaries of modern academic disciplines and their... JERRY Z. MULLER