--- title: "6 Early Quotes By Edmund White" description: "6 Early quotes by Edmund White. Plus more from Edmund White and more Early sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/edmund-white-2376_about_from-an-early-age-i-had-the-idea-that-wr_144378.jpg" --- > [From an early age, I had the idea that writing was truth-telling. It's on the record. Everybody can see it. Maybe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-an-early-age-i-had-the-idea-that-writing-was-truth-telling-it-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e2/edmund-white-2376_about_from-an-early-age-i-had-the-idea-that-wr_144378.jpg) > [Early on, after gay liberation, there was an almost Stalinist pressure from gay critics and even gay readers to write about positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/early-on-after-gay-liberation-there-was-an-almost-stalinist-pressure/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/edmund-white-2376_about_early-on-after-gay-liberation-there-was_746708.png) > [I can remember in the late 1980s and early 1990s how many men with AIDS I saw everywhere in Key West. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-can-remember-in-the-late-1980s-and-early-1990s-how-many-men-with/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/edmund-white-2376_afford_i-can-remember-in-the-late-1980s-and-ear_1507589.jpg) > [Early gay novels such as 'Giovanni's Room' and 'The City and the Pillar' were not nearly as important to me as Isherwood's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/early-gay-novels-such-as-giovanni-s-room-and-the-city-and-the-pillar/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c12/edmund-white-2376_about_early-gay-novels-such-as-giovanni-s-room_2085155.jpg) > [There ought to be more grants that go to people in their late twenties and early thirties. That's a crucial age, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/there-ought-to-be-more-grants-that-go-to-people-in-their-late/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31c/edmund-white-2376_age_there-ought-to-be-more-grants-that-go-to_2319883.png) > [Looking back, I can see that the women I loved, at least early on, were status symbols. I suppose, in that sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/looking-back-i-can-see-that-the-women-i-loved-at-least-early-on-were/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51d/edmund-white-2376_a-good-man_looking-back-i-can-see-that-the-women-i_2669059.png) ## Other authors on Early ## More by Edmund White > [The talk shows in the States want celebrities, not authors. In France, it is different; writers are called upon to comment on everything. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-talk-shows-in-the-states-want-celebrities-not-authors-in-france/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [In 'A Boy's Own Story' and 'Jack Holmes and His Friend,' my idea was to take someone totally different from my real self and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-a-boy-s-own-story-and-jack-holmes-and-his-friend-my-idea-was-to/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Everyone seems agreed that writing about sex is perilous, partly because it threatens to swamp highly individualised characters in a generic, featureless activity (much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/everyone-seems-agreed-that-writing-about-sex-is-perilous-partly/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > ['The Sound of Things Falling' may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Even in translation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-sound-of-things-falling-may-be-a-page-turner-but-it-s-also-a-deep/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [If you're a beach person or a golfer, Key West is not for you. Most of the sand has been imported, and the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/if-you-re-a-beach-person-or-a-golfer-key-west-is-not-for-you-most-of/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [First, I was opposed to gay marriage because it seemed like one more way that gays were wanting to assimilate. When I realized the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/first-i-was-opposed-to-gay-marriage-because-it-seemed-like-one-more/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [From my mother I learned just how violent and unquenchable a woman's loneliness can be. She had been sheltered excessively by her husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-my-mother-i-learned-just-how-violent-and-unquenchable-a-woman-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [From an early age, I had the idea that writing was truth-telling. It's on the record. Everybody can see it. Maybe it goes back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/from-an-early-age-i-had-the-idea-that-writing-was-truth-telling-it-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Since, in the best Southern tradition, I was named Edmund Valentine White III, sometimes when people look up my books on Amazon they find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/since-in-the-best-southern-tradition-i-was-named-edmund-valentine/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When I was young, I despised old people. I was provincial and narrow-minded. It's the reason I stayed stupid so long. If you only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/when-i-was-young-i-despised-old-people-i-was-provincial-and-narrow/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Key West is the place where your sickly house plant back in New York grows to 10 ft. It's also the place where an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/key-west-is-the-place-where-your-sickly-house-plant-back-in-new-york/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“In the past, when gays were very flamboyant as drag queens or as leather queens or whatever, that just amused people. And most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-the-past-when-gays-were-very-flamboyant-as-drag-queens-or-as/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [When a woman falls in love with me, I feel guilty. I am convinced that it's pure obstinacy that keeps me from reciprocating her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/when-a-woman-falls-in-love-with-me-i-feel-guilty-i-am-convinced-that/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [While writing 'City Boy,' I relied mainly on my own memories. In particular, I was able to describe the effect of gay liberation on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/while-writing-city-boy-i-relied-mainly-on-my-own-memories-in/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early/edmund-white/#itemlist", "name": "6 Early Quotes By Edmund White", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From an early age, I had the idea that writing was truth-telling. It's on the record. Everybody can see it. 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