A poet sees things in two ways: First, as a child who never saw it before, and Second, as a dying man… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I don’t know who my parents were. I know nothing about my inheritance. I could be Jewish; I could be part Negro;… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“The English could bring into this tight area four hundred and forty-eight thousand soldiers, but they could not find space in their… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
No invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, the private passion… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I would suppose I learned how to write when I was very young indeed. When I read a child's book about the… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
When I was a child in the Navy during World War II, I was perennially grateful to the armed services libraries for… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
You don't fight to protect warships or old men. Like the book says, you fight to save your civilization. And so often… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I missed a whole cycle of childhood, but I've never used it as a device for self-pity. — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I think the bottom line is that if you get through a childhood like mine, it's not at all bad. Obviously, you… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“Brothers in God,” he said simply, “you are not entering upon a limited mission. You are to aim at nothing less than… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“[Very rich people] with brains make a great effort to hold on to every penny they have while preaching to the general population that… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
A writer can make a fortune in America, but he can't make a living. — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
As a writer I have persisted in my uncertainty, alternating between novels which could charitably be considered literature and world reporting which by another… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
. . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured [England] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I am terrified of restrictive religious doctrine, having learned from history that when men who adhere to any form of it are in control,… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“This is not a promise, this is not threat, it's just the way it's gonna be!!!” — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“We went into the night and for the first time in my life I saw the stars hanging low over the desert, for the… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
The rules seem to be these: If you have written a successful novel, everyone invites you to write short stories. If you have written… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“A Roman came to Rabbi Gimzo the Water Carrier, and asked, "What is this study of the law that you Jews engage in?" and… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
“The chance emergence of the was nothing. Remember this. But its persistence and patient accumulation of stature were everything. Only by relentless effort did… — James A. Michener Copy Share Image
