---
title: "1 1920s Quotes By William Kennedy"
description: "1 1920s quotes by William Kennedy. Plus more from William Kennedy and more 1920s sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png"
---

> [“Billy's native arrogance might well have been a gift of miffed genes, then come to splendid definition through the tests to which a street like Broadway puts a young man on the make: tests designed to refine a breed, enforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have-been-a-gift-of-miffed-genes/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/william-kennedy-25216_1920s_billy-s-native-arrogance-might-well-have_3226408.png)

## More by William Kennedy

> [Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/everyone-is-interesting-except-the-narrator-in-a-first-person-story/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [Aspiring writers should read the entire canon of literature that precedes them, back to the Greeks, up to the current issue of The Paris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/aspiring-writers-should-read-the-entire-canon-of-literature-that/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“In the years after the death of Petrus, Hillegond had refused all offers of marriage, certain that her knowledge of men, despite her uncountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/in-the-years-after-the-death-of-petrus-hillegond-had-refused-all/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [There's only a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/there-s-only-a-short-walk-from-the-hallelujah-to-the-hoot/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [Without a sense of place the work is often reduced to a cry of voices in empty rooms, a literature of the self, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/without-a-sense-of-place-the-work-is-often-reduced-to-a-cry-of-voices/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [Anger makes people stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/anger-makes-people-stupid/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“Love, is always insufficient, always a lie. Love, you are the clean shit of my soul. Stupid love, silly love. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/love-is-always-insufficient-always-a-lie-love-you-are-the-clean-shit/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [Well-lit streets discourage sin, but don't overdo it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/well-lit-streets-discourage-sin-but-don-t-overdo-it/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [We are only possible as what happened to us yesterday. We all change as well move](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/we-are-only-possible-as-what-happened-to-us-yesterday-we-all-change/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“He would not chance arrest by crawling into a corner of one of the old houses on Lower Broadway where the cops swept through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/he-would-not-chance-arrest-by-crawling-into-a-corner-of-one-of-the/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“But after awhile you stand up, wipe the frost out of your ear, go someplace to get warm, bum a nickel for coffee, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/but-after-awhile-you-stand-up-wipe-the-frost-out-of-your-ear-go/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“Why was it that suicide kept rising up in Francis' mind? Wake up in the weeds outside Pittsburgh, half frozen over, too cold to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/why-was-it-that-suicide-kept-rising-up-in-francis-mind-wake-up-in-the/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“One never knows the potential within the human breast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/one-never-knows-the-potential-within-the-human-breast/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“...the only brotherhood they belonged to was the one that asked that enduring question: How do I get through the next twenty minutes? They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/the-only-brotherhood-they-belonged-to-was-the-one-that-asked-that/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

> [“Mi culpa es todo lo que me queda. Si la pierdo, no habré significado nada, no habré hecho nada, no habré sido nada.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/mi-culpa-es-todo-lo-que-me-queda-si-la-pierdo-no-habr-significado/)

[William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/)

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