“White encouraged Updike’s equally scrupulous commitment. They bonded over dashes, colons, and commas—most amazingly in an exchange of letters in the last two months… — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“I scuttled without a shell, between houses and wives, a snake between skins, a monster of selfishness, my grotesque needs naked and pink.” — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“Even more than black death he dreaded the gaudy gate: the mask of sweet red rubber, the violet overhead lights, the rattling ride through… — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“[A]s Norman Mailer pointed out decades ago, and Philip Roth not long afterwards, niceness is the enemy. Every soft stroke from society is like… — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“I read and talked into the microphone and was gracious to the local rich, the English faculty and the college president, and the students… — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“Updike quashed the voice of his conscience, while at the same time clinging to a “me-first Salvationism.” — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
“the students with their clear skin and shining eyes and inviting innocence, like a blank surface one wishes to scribble obscenities on.” — Adam Begley Copy Share Image
![“[A]s Norman Mailer pointed out decades ago, and Philip Roth not long afterwards, niceness is the enemy. Every soft stroke from society is like the pfft of an aerosol can as it eats up a few more atoms of our brain’s delicate ozone, and furthers our personal cretinization.” quote by Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/57a/adam-begley-35096_quote_a-s-norman-mailer-pointed-out-decades-ag_1330022.jpg)
