I love the idea of a university as away from capitalist values, where people can do things that don't immediately have to pay their way. It's like a monastery in a way, and that beautiful refuge has been destroyed by dogma about what this stuff is for.
From Alain de Botton
I waste most of the day, then finally start to write around 3 P.M., totally disgusted with myself for my wasteful nature.
I've had my successes and failures. I know many academics in my field loathe me. I've come to loathe them back, as it seems only polite to do so. But at heart it's absurd; we should band together against the big common enemies.
In Britain, because I live here, I can also run into problems of envy and competition. But all this is just in a day's work for a writer. You can't put stuff out there without someone calling you a complete fool. Oh, well.
All tours are filled with humiliation. My publisher once hired a private jet to fly me to a venue where 1,000 people were waiting. It almost bankrupted him.
Never, ever become a writer. It's a nightmare.
My writing always came out of a very personal place, out of an attempt to stay sane.
I went to church and couldn't swallow it. The music was nice but I don't belong there.
When work is not going well, it's useful to remember that our identities stretch beyond what is on the business card, that we were people long before we became workers - and will continue to be human once we have put our tools down forever.
Many moments in religion seem attractive to me even though I can't believe in any of it.
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