"The notion that anything can be invented wholly and that these invented things are classified as fiction and that other writing, presumably not made up, is called nonfiction strikes me as a very arbitrary separation of things. We know that most great novels and stories come not from things that are entirely invented, but from perfect knowledge and close observation. To say they are made up is an injustice in describing them. I sometimes say that I don’t make up anything—obviously, that’s not true. But I am usually uninterested in writers who say that everything comes out of the imagination. I would rather be in a room with someone who is telling me the story of his life, which may be exaggerated and even have lies in it, but I want to hear the true story, essentially."
- James Salter
May 26
"Donoghue was someone who used to come into my rooms at Trinity and see something in the typewriter and glance at it. I’d ask him, “What do you think of that, Donoghue?” and he’d say “It stinks!” This went on for days and days, every time he’d come in trying to get food from me. And then—he was a classicist—one night I typed out some Plato and left it in my typewriter, and I had it ready for him as he popped in. And I said, “Okay, Donoghue, there it is in the typewriter. Now let’s have your opinion on that.” “That stinks too.” “Look, Donoghue, I’ve tried awfully hard with this.” He’d say, “Doesn’t matter. You’re never going to make it.” I made him give it a second reading, but he said it still stunk. Then I revealed to him it was Plato. And that stopped him staring at my typewriter. He finally conceded, “What the hell, you work hard, maybe you’ll make it."
"An intellectual? Yes. And never deny it. An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. I like this, because I am happy to be both halves, the watcher and the watched. “Can they be brought together?” This is a practical question. We must get down to it. “I despise intelligence” really means: “I cannot bear my doubts."
Christopher Nolan and David Fincher on Terrence Malick.
Nolan: Terrence Malick more than almost any other film maker I could name, his work is immediatly recognizable, his films are all very very connected with each other and they’re very recognizibly his work but it’s very tough to put your finger on why that is or what you’re seeing in that, the technique is not immediatly obvious and Malick’s influence on my work is very clear.
Fincher: I think that with Malick you’re seeing something that was thought about and medidated over and you’re seeing somebody who’s making choices that are specifically designed to evoke a feeling.
There were two ways through life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.
Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.
Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things.
No one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end.
In the past week, a lot of people have changed their opinions about me. In a negative way.
Mar 3
You need to have one person in your life you shout at pretty often. Otherwise, there’ll come a time when you’ll direct your anger towards random people and hurt relationships.
Earlier, my mother used to be that shout blanket, but of late I have been extra kind to her. A pressure cooker vent was let out today.
