John Updike was a renowned American novelist, poet, and short story writer who has become widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of his generation. His work was revered for its insight into the human condition and its exploration of complex themes.
He was also known for being particularly eloquent in his speech and writing, with his works often containing powerful quotes that linger long after reading them.
About John Updike
John Updike was one of the most influential authors of his time. His works were known for their wit and insight into American life, culture, and values. He was born on March 18th, 1932 in Reading, Pennsylvania to a family that had been living in the area since 1675.
His father was an engineer at a local factory while his mother worked as a teacher’s aide at the same school he attended until graduation. From an early age, Updike displayed talents as both a writer and artist which led him to pursue both creative activities throughout his life up until his death in 2009.
Updike first book, The Poorhouse Fair, was published at the tender age of 26 and garnered much critical acclaim from critics who praised its unique writing style and keen eye for detail.
He graduated from Harvard University and later worked as a freelance writer for various publications including The New Yorker Magazine, where many of his short stories first appeared. Updike wrote several acclaimed novels such as Rabbit Run (1960), The Centaur (1963), and Of the Farm (1965).
He also wrote more than twenty volumes of poetry, two memoirs, three collections of criticism, as well as essays on art, literature, and religion. In addition to his writing career, Updike also served on the Pulitzer Prize fiction jury four times throughout his lifetime.
Top John Updike quotes
John Updike was an American, whose works are characterized by sharp observations of everyday life. He was the recipient of numerous awards during his lifetime. His literary influence and impact can still be felt today and his quotes remain timeless wisdom. In this article, we will explore some of the most thought-provoking and inspiring John Updike quotes that have stood the test of time.
“But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.”
Love is mysterious and powerful, finding its way into our lives in unexpected ways. Two lovers locked hands as if they were starfish leaping through the dark. It was a rush to reach their car, almost like a scene from an old romance novel. We may never know the full story of these two lovers, but it’s clear that they are entwined in something special and beautiful. This quote will explore the beauty and power of this moment when two hearts become one.
“What is the past, after all, but a vast sheet of darkness in which a few moments, pricked apparently at random, shine?”
“We are cruel enough without meaning to be.”
“Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us. ”
“I’m willing to show good taste, if I can, in somebody else’s living room, but our reading life is too short for a writer to be in any way polite. Since his words enter into another’s brain in silence and intimacy, he should be as honest and explicit as we are with ourselves.”
“A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership.”
“Not only are selves conditional but they die. Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?”
“But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it.”
“So much love, too much love, it is our madness, it is rotting us out, exploding us like dandelion polls.”
Love is an emotion that has been shared and discussed by people from all walks of life, since time immemorial. It is both a blessing and a curse; it can bring immense joy, but at times it can also cause great pain. In this quote, we will explore the darker side of love – too much love – and its effects on us. We will look at how too much love can make us feel mad, rot us out, and explode like dandelion polls.
“Being able to write becomes a kind of shield, a way of hiding, a way of too instantly transforming pain into honey.”
“Writers may be disreputable, incorrigible, early to decay or late to bloom but they dare to go it alone”
“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I’ve always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the old bitch; she doesn’t want to do it, not again, no, anything but that, but she has to. It’s a fucking torture rack, all that budding and pushing, the sap up the tree trunks, the weeds and the insects getting set to fight it out once again, the seeds trying to remember how the hell the DNA is supposed to go, all that competition for a little bit of nitrogen; Christ, it’s cruel.”― John Updike, The Witches of Eastwick
“That’s the trouble with caring about anybody, you begin to feel overprotective. Then you begin to feel crowded.”
“Looking foolish does the spirit good. The need not to look foolish is one of youth’s many burdens; as we get older we are exempted from more and more.”
“You do things and do things and nobody really has a clue.”
Do you ever feel like you’re constantly doing things, yet no one knows what you’re up to? You work hard and try to stay busy, but it seems that no one has a clue when it comes to understanding your goals or activities. In this quote, we will explore the idea of doing things and nobody really having a clue. We’ll look at why this feeling of invisibility can occur and how to find a way out of the fog.
“The artist brings something into the world that didn’t exist before, and he does it without destroying something else. ”
“Everybody who tells you how to act has whiskey on their breath.”
“Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.”
“We are fated to love one another; we hardly exist outside our love, we are just animals without it, with a birth and a death and constant fear between. Our love has lifted us up, out of the dreadfulness of merely living.”
“The world keeps ending but new people too dumb to know it keep showing up as if the fun’s just started.”
“How can you respect the world when you see it’s being run by a bunch of kids turned old?”
“I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody’s head.”
Writing can be a powerful tool to unlock the creative potential that lies within. We all have ideas and stories inside us, but sometimes they can get stuck in our heads like a traffic jam. That is why I write books – to help people open the pathways to their creativity and bring those ideas out into the world. My aim is to write books that are accessible and easy-to-follow, while still providing readers with an experience that will allow them to reach new heights of creativity.
“What art offers is space – a certain breathing room for the spirit.”
“We do survive every moment, after all, except the last one.”
“If you have the guts to be yourself, other people’ll pay your price.”
“Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.”
“The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.”
“Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face.”
“Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them. ”
“It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.”
FAQs
His most famous work is his “Rabbit” series
Updike never won a Nobel Prize
The reason why John Updike wrote A&P is that he wanted to show the conflict between ideals and reality.
Let’s Wind Up…
John Updike has offered many thought-provoking and inspirational quotes that have encouraged readers to think more deeply about their lives and the world around them. His words may come from decades ago, but they are just as relevant today as ever.
In a time of uncertainty, Updike’s words can provide needed perspective and guidance for navigating life’s challenges. Updike’s wisdom is timeless, and his legacy will continue to inspire us for years to come.