---
title: "3 American writer Quotes By Gore Vidal"
description: "3 American writer quotes by Gore Vidal. Plus more from Gore Vidal and more American writer sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/gore-vidal-466_american-writer_american-writers-want-to-be-not-good-but_1895748.jpg"
---

> [American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/american-writers-want-to-be-not-good-but-great-and-so-are-neither/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/gore-vidal-466_american-writer_american-writers-want-to-be-not-good-but_1895748.jpg)

> [The Americans only like things they can label, even if it kills them. Think of those poor Latin American writers. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-americans-only-like-things-they-can-label-even-if-it-kills-them/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb2/gore-vidal-466_american-writer_the-americans-only-like-things-they-can_2549957.jpg)

> [Class is the most difficult subject for American writers to deal with as it is the most difficult for the English to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/class-is-the-most-difficult-subject-for-american-writers-to-deal-with/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd0/gore-vidal-466_american-writer_class-is-the-most-difficult-subject-for_3159134.jpg)

## More by Gore Vidal

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

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