Greetings, writers—
One of my favorite people in the world reads works of fiction only if their authors won the Nobel Prize1. I like to tease her about this, but it’s not the worst criteria one could use when organizing the To-Read pile.
In honor of this person, here are snippets of insight from some of the winners of literature’s biggest prize. I hope you find them interesting, maybe even inspirational.
(Incidentally, I just read a 25-year-old interview with the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson in which he talked about keeping relevant quotes around to help him stay focused and inspired.2 For King Hedley II, the eighth play in his ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, he had three: “A quote by Frank Gehry on his plans for the Corcoran Gallery addition: ‘I hope to take it to the moon.’ And a quote attributed to Charlie Parker: ‘Don’t be afraid. Just play the music.’ And a quote from the Bhagavad-Gita: ‘You have the right to the work but not the reward.’” I like the last two especially.)
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