Best F. Sionil Jose Quotes
- Ninoy Aquino was a friend; I knew his faults, which were outweighed by his virtues. Aquino
- For decades, as literary editor, I have followed the growth of our creative writing in English. In my Solidaridad Bookshop, half of my stock consists… Books
- The Japanese covet important symbols - their heroic past as enshrined in Yasukuni, the Imperial family which has never been sullied by scandal. Been
- The heart of the theater is the play itself, how it dramatizes life to make it meaningful entertainment. To achieve depth and universality, the playwright… Achieve
- What is needed in the theater, in fact for all our art forms, is a vibrant critical tradition. All
- To fund major cultural efforts, we must not rely alone on government and foundation patronage; if the farmer can spend for beer, he can pay… Alone
- You perhaps know me as a novelist. Literature is one of the arts - in fact, the noblest of the arts. That is not my… Ancient
- We recognize the distinctness of Asian art when we turn to its traditional forms, recognize it as Japanese, Chinese and Indian, even Balinese or Thai. Art
- In the visual arts, particularly painting, I distrust all those abstractions, those artificial constructions. I have a very simple way of judging them: if I… Abstraction
- Art, whatever form it takes, requires hard work, craftsmanship and creativity. As a writer, I know my grammar, cadence, the music of prose, and the… Art
- We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers, and there is so little to read in them.… All
- I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the past,… Ancestor
- We are shallow because we have become enslaved by gross materialism, the glitter of gold and its equivalents, for which reason we think that only… Able
- Of course, we are all egoists. Egoism is so much a part of our humanity. All
- Professional societies are sooner or later fractured by the ego of their leaders. Everyone wants to be president, chairman, CEO; no one wants to be… Ceo
- We must know our own roles. We should also know the roles that others play, and the rules such roles follow. In this manner, social… Act
- All dictators, the rich and famous, to the lowest security guard who holds a gun, easily forget that power is transitory. All
- Literature - Eastern and Western - abounds with stories, myths, legends about the search for youth, for eternal life. Abound
- For them who delay aging, who infuse decrepit bodies with youth and beauty - they must rejoice in the fullness of their deeds. Aging
- As artists, we must not go down to the level of the masa; we should bring them up, intellectualize our languages, create classics out of… Artists
- In the end, religion teaches us to value truth, justice and freedom. End
- Class - or the economic status of individuals - is evident in all societies, some very well stratified by a rigid caste system determined by… All
- Indeed, the existence of class, of social hierarchy, is as old as man himself. It prevails in the jungle where strength determines hierarchy; among men,… Among
- From antiquity, Latin died but is still studied in seminaries and elite universities. So did Sanskrit in Asia. iI was replaced by Pali, but even… Ancient
- Like so many poor Ilokanos, my grandparents left their village, for it could no longer sustain them. The Ilocos is a narrow coastal plain where,… Afflicted