November 2nd, 2009 / 7:48 pm
 Power Quote

Power Quote: Don DeLillo

DonDeLillo-a

Every sentence has a truth waiting at the end of it and the writer learns how to know it when he finally gets there. On one level this truth is the swing of the sentence, the beat and poise, but down deeper it’s the integrity of the writer as he matches with the language. I’ve always seen myself in sentences. I begin to recognize myself, word by word, as I work through a sentence. The language of my books has shaped me as a man. There’s a moral force in a sentence when it comes out right. It speaks the writer’s will to live. The deeper I become entangled in the process of getting a sentence right in its syllables and rhythms, the more I learn about myself.

– Mao II

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14 Comments

  1. November 2nd, 2009 / 11:56 pm Shya—

      A true romantic.

  2. November 2nd, 2009 / 7:56 pm Shya—

      A true romantic.

  3. November 3rd, 2009 / 12:49 am Mike Young—

      chris bachelder said something the other week that is pretty sticky, which i am going to paraphrase thusly: writers don’t get remembered for prose or plot; they get remembered for inventing a worldview

      this seems to be what delilo is talking about too, in an inside-out way

  4. November 2nd, 2009 / 8:49 pm Mike Young—

      chris bachelder said something the other week that is pretty sticky, which i am going to paraphrase thusly: writers don’t get remembered for prose or plot; they get remembered for inventing a worldview

      this seems to be what delilo is talking about too, in an inside-out way

  5. November 3rd, 2009 / 1:30 am Michael James—

      i thought this was taylor talking and i was beginning to be a bit envious of him.

      and dont hate me because i love white noise

  6. November 2nd, 2009 / 9:30 pm Michael James—

      i thought this was taylor talking and i was beginning to be a bit envious of him.

      and dont hate me because i love white noise

  7. November 3rd, 2009 / 3:18 am Jonny Ross—

      fuck yeah!

      Bill Gray, represent y’all

  8. November 2nd, 2009 / 11:18 pm Jonny Ross—

      fuck yeah!

      Bill Gray, represent y’all

  9. November 3rd, 2009 / 7:55 am alec niedenthal—

      probably my favorite delillo novel. all of the stuff in that book regarding the relation between literature/terrorism is fascinating.

  10. November 3rd, 2009 / 3:55 am alec niedenthal—

      probably my favorite delillo novel. all of the stuff in that book regarding the relation between literature/terrorism is fascinating.

  11. November 3rd, 2009 / 7:57 am Sid—

      DeLillo is as gnomic as you want him to be. I find him to be a very straightforward type of guy. He says that writing is like making shoes, only slower. That sounds like the Bronx to me, not Walden. There tends to be an inordinate amount of attention placed on the cryptical elements of his work and not enough on the nuts and bolts. The Triumph of Death is a piece of black slapstick. And DeLillo speaks in no one’s voice but his own.

  12. November 3rd, 2009 / 3:57 am Sid—

      DeLillo is as gnomic as you want him to be. I find him to be a very straightforward type of guy. He says that writing is like making shoes, only slower. That sounds like the Bronx to me, not Walden. There tends to be an inordinate amount of attention placed on the cryptical elements of his work and not enough on the nuts and bolts. The Triumph of Death is a piece of black slapstick. And DeLillo speaks in no one’s voice but his own.

  13. November 3rd, 2009 / 11:01 am david e—

      i liked/like white noise too

  14. November 3rd, 2009 / 7:01 am david e—

      i liked/like white noise too