--- title: "7 Surf Quotes By William Finnegan" description: "7 Surf quotes by William Finnegan. Plus more from William Finnegan and more Surf sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/william-finnegan-21232_always_writing-is-pretty-flexible-work-don-t-yo_155319.jpg" --- > [Writing is pretty flexible work, don't you think? If you want to surf, you just have to get a lot done when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/writing-is-pretty-flexible-work-don-t-you-think-if-you-want-to-surf/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/william-finnegan-21232_always_writing-is-pretty-flexible-work-don-t-yo_155319.jpg) > [Poor-country surf communities can be complex and, to some extent, leveling. The fisherman's kid is competing head to head with the plutocrat's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/poor-country-surf-communities-can-be-complex-and-to-some-extent/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ee/william-finnegan-21232_community_poor-country-surf-communities-can-be-com_693637.jpg) > [There are good waves not that far from Manhattan - on Long Island, in north Jersey. It's true that the best surf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/there-are-good-waves-not-that-far-from-manhattan-on-long-island-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e00/william-finnegan-21232_around_there-are-good-waves-not-that-far-from-m_1114975.jpg) > [I always wanted to write. While I was on a long surf trip, supporting myself with various day jobs, I was working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-always-wanted-to-write-while-i-was-on-a-long-surf-trip-supporting/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c21/william-finnegan-21232_books_i-always-wanted-to-write-while-i-was-on_1376794.jpg) > [“Everything out there was disturbingly interlaced with everything else. Waves were the playing field. They were the goal. They were the object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/everything-out-there-was-disturbingly-interlaced-with-everything-else/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/william-finnegan-21232_different-world_everything-out-there-was-disturbingly-in_1628826.jpg) > [Rich white people show up in a poor country to pursue their leisure-time fun, get served by black and brown people, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/rich-white-people-show-up-in-a-poor-country-to-pursue-their-leisure/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/william-finnegan-21232_absolutes_rich-white-people-show-up-in-a-poor-coun_2794374.jpg) > [Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing, and many Hawaiians or part-Hawaiians surf, but in the rest of the United States it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/hawaii-is-the-birthplace-of-surfing-and-many-hawaiians-or-part/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/william-finnegan-21232_birthplace_hawaii-is-the-birthplace-of-surfing-and_2863361.jpg) ## Other authors on Surf ## More by William Finnegan > [The differences between the received wisdom, the standard version of events, and the facts on the ground may be subtle or they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/the-differences-between-the-received-wisdom-the-standard-version-of/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Writing is pretty flexible work, don't you think? If you want to surf, you just have to get a lot done when the waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/writing-is-pretty-flexible-work-don-t-you-think-if-you-want-to-surf/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [You're after something - not a story, but a certain, exquisitely intense encounter with beauty - and the only way to find it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/you-re-after-something-not-a-story-but-a-certain-exquisitely-intense/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“When I finally came in and complained, she tried to explain, not for the first time, how exquisitely boring it was to watch surfing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/when-i-finally-came-in-and-complained-she-tried-to-explain-not-for/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [It's completely different, for instance, to report on poor farmers in Africa than it is to report on, say, poor African-Americans. The familiarity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/it-s-completely-different-for-instance-to-report-on-poor-farmers-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“Surfing, to begin with, was not a “sport.” It was a “path.” And the more you poured into it, the more you got back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/surfing-to-begin-with-was-not-a-sport-it-was-a-path-and-the-more-you/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman O. Brown, an exercise in masturbatory obscurantism that Bryan would never have undertaken—and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-later-spent-a-year-studying-finnegans-wake-with-norman-o-brown-an/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Poor-country surf communities can be complex and, to some extent, leveling. The fisherman's kid is competing head to head with the plutocrat's gilded son.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/poor-country-surf-communities-can-be-complex-and-to-some-extent/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I need to conduct myself differently in different communities. In my experience, the journalistic conventions - you know, I'm the reporter, you're the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-need-to-conduct-myself-differently-in-different-communities-in-my/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [There are good waves not that far from Manhattan - on Long Island, in north Jersey. It's true that the best surf around here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/there-are-good-waves-not-that-far-from-manhattan-on-long-island-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I'm trying to find out what's actually true, which is nearly always something, if not a world of things, that you can't read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-m-trying-to-find-out-what-s-actually-true-which-is-nearly-always/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I remember surfing in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, even Madeira, when local fishermen had never seen a surfboard before, and refused to believe that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-remember-surfing-in-fiji-samoa-tonga-even-madeira-when-local/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Even wars, big conflicts that have drawn a lot of news coverage, sometimes seem to me to have a center that hasn't been described,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/even-wars-big-conflicts-that-have-drawn-a-lot-of-news-coverage/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [As I travelled around Australia, strangers in pubs, on airplanes, in beach parking lots would bring up Gina Rinehart, not knowing I was writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/as-i-travelled-around-australia-strangers-in-pubs-on-airplanes-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“Being friends as in writing letters was so much easier than being friends as in living together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/being-friends-as-in-writing-letters-was-so-much-easier-than-being/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surf/william-finnegan/#itemlist", "name": "7 Surf Quotes By William Finnegan", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is pretty flexible work, don't you think? 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