--- title: "1 Benny Goodman Quotes By John Cheever" description: "1 Benny Goodman quotes by John Cheever. Plus more from John Cheever and more Benny Goodman sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg" --- > [“These stories at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationary store, when almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of-a-long-lost-world-when-the/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg) ## More by John Cheever > [Only the opium eater truly understands the pain of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/only-the-opium-eater-truly-understands-the-pain-of-death/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [The poet or storyteller who feels that he is competing with a superb double play in the World Series is a lost man. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/the-poet-or-storyteller-who-feels-that-he-is-competing-with-a-superb/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“She perceived vaguely the pitiful corruption of the adult world; how cruel and frail it was, like a worn piece of burlap, patched with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/she-perceived-vaguely-the-pitiful-corruption-of-the-adult-world-how/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [For lovers, touch is metamorphosis. All the parts of their bodies seem to change, and they seem to become something different and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/for-lovers-touch-is-metamorphosis-all-the-parts-of-their-bodies-seem/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“I dream that someone in space says to me: So let us rush, then, to see the world. It is shaped like an egg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-someone-in-space-says-to-me-so-let-us-rush-then-to-see/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [I don't like to see all my energies, all of my youth, wasted in fur coats and radios and slipcovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-don-t-like-to-see-all-my-energies-all-of-my-youth-wasted-in-fur/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Literature has been the salvation of the damned, literature has inspired and guided lovers, routed despair and can perhaps in this case save the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/literature-has-been-the-salvation-of-the-damned-literature-has/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [At my back I hear the word-"homosexual"-and it seems to split my world in two… It is ignorance, our ignorance of one another, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/at-my-back-i-hear-the-word-homosexual-and-it-seems-to-split-my-world/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [One would never have guessed that the world had such a capacity for genuine grief. The most we can do is exploit our memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/one-would-never-have-guessed-that-the-world-had-such-a-capacity-for/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“His stepmother -wearing a nightgown for comfort and a flowered hat for looks- had spent her days sitting in their parlor window in Baltimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/his-stepmother-wearing-a-nightgown-for-comfort-and-a-flowered-hat-for/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Fear tastes like a rusty knife and do not let her into your house. Courage tastes of blood. Stand up straight. Admire the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/fear-tastes-like-a-rusty-knife-and-do-not-let-her-into-your-house/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [I dream that my face appears on a postage stamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-my-face-appears-on-a-postage-stamp/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/wisdom-is-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-not-the-strength-to-choose/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“There was some faint coughing, a moan, and then a man spoke. "Are you all right, darling?" he asked. "Yes," a woman said wearily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/there-was-some-faint-coughing-a-moan-and-then-a-man-spoke-are-you-all/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [“It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, "I drank too much last night." You might have heard it whispered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/it-was-one-of-those-midsummer-sundays-when-everyone-sits-around/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benny-goodman/john-cheever/#itemlist", "name": "1 Benny Goodman Quotes By John Cheever", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These stories at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationary store, when almost everybody wore a hat. Here is the last of that generation of chain smokers who woke to the world in the morning with their coughing, who used to get stoned at cocktail parties and perform obsolete dance steps like 'the Cleveland Chicken,' sail for Europe on ships, who were nostalgic for love and happiness, and whose gods were as ancient as yours and mine, whoever you are.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Cheever" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of-a-long-lost-world-when-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“These stories at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a…” — John Cheever", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benny-goodman/john-cheever/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benny-goodman/john-cheever/", "name": "Benny Goodman Quotes by John Cheever", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benny-goodman/john-cheever/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/john-cheever-3301_dance-steps_these-stories-at-times-to-be-stories-of_2680541.jpg" }, "description": "1 Benny Goodman quotes by John Cheever. 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