“At the time of Lewis and Clark, setting the prairies on fire was a well-known signal that meant, ‘Come down to the… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
You can, in short, lead the life of the mind, which is, despite some appalling frustrations, the happiest life on earth. And… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“The secret of seeing is, then the pearl of great price. If I thought he could teach me to find it and… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“Last year I had a very unusual experience. I was awake, with my eyes closed, when I had a dream. It was… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“I chanced on a wonderful book by Marius von Senden, called Space and Sight. . . . For the newly sighted, vision… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“The general rule in nature is that live things are soft within and rigid without.” — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
We are here to abet creation and to witness to it, to notice each other's beautiful face and complex nature so that… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“An infant is a pucker of the earth's thin skin; so are we. We arise like budding yeasts and break off: we… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“Their song reminds me of a child’s neighborhood rallying cry—ee-ock-ee—with a heartfelt warble at the end. But it is their call that… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“In nature, improbabilities are the one stock in trade. The whole creation is one lunatic fringe. If creation had been left up… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“In the great meteor shower of August, the Perseid, I wail all day for the shooting stars I miss. They’re out there… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.” — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves. — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes… — Annie Dillard Copy Share Image
