---
title: "Best John Fante Quotes"
description: "John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel Ask the Dust (1939) abou..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-fante-51363.jpg"
---

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# John Fante

(1909–1983)   Writer   United States

 **80** quotes in **358** categories

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John Fante was a writer from the United States, best known for *Ask the dust*.

## Quick Facts About John Fante

Born April 8, 1909

Died May 8, 1983

Nationality United States

Profession Writer

Notable works Ask the dust

Known for Wait until Spring, Bandini, The Road to Los Angeles, Ask the Dust, West of Rome, Dago Red

Spouse Joyce Fante

## About John Fante

John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel Ask the Dust (1939) about the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in Depression-era Los Angeles. It is widely considered the great Los Angeles novel, and is one in a series of four, published between 1938 and 1985, that are now collectively called "The Bandini Quartet." Ask the Dust was adapted into a 2006 film starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek. Fante's published works while he lived included five novels, one novella, and a short story collection. Additional works, including two novels, two novellas, and two short story collections, were published posthumously. His screenwriting credits include, most notably, Full of Life, Jeanne Eagels (1957), and the 1962 films Walk on the Wild Side and The Reluctant Saint.

##  Quotes by John Fante · Page 2

> [You are nobody, and I might have been somebody, and the road to each of us is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/you-are-nobody-and-i-might-have-been-somebody-and-the-road-to-each-of/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/john-fante-6848_journey_you-are-nobody-and-i-might-have-been-som_543196.jpg)

> [“fearing nothing but the unknown in a world of mysterious wonder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/fearing-nothing-but-the-unknown-in-a-world-of-mysterious-wonder/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42e/john-fante-6848_fear_fearing-nothing-but-the-unknown-in-a-wor_2163157.jpg)

> [Literary criticism is generally bunk. Nonsense. Usually based on self-serving post-intellectual bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/literary-criticism-is-generally-bunk-nonsense-usually-based-on-self/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullshit/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/john-fante-6848_bullshit_literary-criticism-is-generally-bunk-non_2682814.jpg)

> [“My dear girl. I am equally fond of man and beast alike. There is not the slightest drop of enmity in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/my-dear-girl-i-am-equally-fond-of-man-and-beast-alike-there-is-not/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a68/john-fante-6848_quote_my-dear-girl-i-am-equally-fond-of-man-an_1582927.jpg)

> [Well, this is good for me, this is experience, I am here for a reason, these moments run into pages, the seamy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/well-this-is-good-for-me-this-is-experience-i-am-here-for-a-reason/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05c/john-fante-6848_experience_well-this-is-good-for-me-this-is-experie_169459.jpg)

> [Sick in my soul I tried to face the ordeal of seeking forgiveness. From whom? What God, what Christ? They were myths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/sick-in-my-soul-i-tried-to-face-the-ordeal-of-seeking-forgiveness/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/john-fante-6848_belief_sick-in-my-soul-i-tried-to-face-the-orde_1978090.jpg)

> [“When your weaknesses are your strenghts, you cry. For crying disconcerts people, they don't know how to handle it; they are expecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/when-your-weaknesses-are-your-strenghts-you-cry-for-crying/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Crying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crying/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/724/john-fante-6848_quote_when-your-weaknesses-are-your-strenghts_925037.jpg)

> [Los Angeles, give me some of you! Los Angeles come to me the way I came to you, my feet over your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/los-angeles-give-me-some-of-you-los-angeles-come-to-me-the-way-i-came/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6b/john-fante-6848_feet_los-angeles-give-me-some-of-you-los-ange_1603856.jpg)

> [Ah, Los Angeles! Dust and fog of your lonely streets, I am no longer lonely. Just you wait, all of you ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/ah-los-angeles-dust-and-fog-of-your-lonely-streets-i-am-no-longer/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/john-fante-6848_dust_ah-los-angeles-dust-and-fog-of-your-lone_1774533.jpg)

> [Like my father, I am very impatient. I have a strong bullshit detector. I may finish one book in twenty that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/like-my-father-i-am-very-impatient-i-have-a-strong-bullshit-detector/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f3/john-fante-6848_book_like-my-father-i-am-very-impatient-i-hav_1189086.jpg)

> [“No Arturo, there never was a sea. You dream and you wish, but you go on through the wasteland. You will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/no-arturo-there-never-was-a-sea-you-dream-and-you-wish-but-you-go-on/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Salt Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt-sea-1523723/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/john-fante-6848_quote_no-arturo-there-never-was-a-sea-you-drea_542499.jpg)

> [“Please God, please Knut Hamsun, don't desert me now. I started to write and I wrote: The time has come," the Walrus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/please-god-please-knut-hamsun-don-t-desert-me-now-i-started-to-write/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Walrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walrus/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2a/john-fante-6848_walrus_please-god-please-knut-hamsun-don-t-dese_2521180.jpg)

> [The bible is a source of great inspiration to me. It is a textbook of metaphysics. Within the bible are keys to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/the-bible-is-a-source-of-great-inspiration-to-me-it-is-a-textbook-of/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Actualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actualization/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/john-fante-6848_actualization_the-bible-is-a-source-of-great-inspirati_336681.jpg)

> [“There came over me a terrifying sense of understanding about the meaning and the pathetic destiny of men. The desert was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/there-came-over-me-a-terrifying-sense-of-understanding-about-the/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-fante-6848_desert_there-came-over-me-a-terrifying-sense-of_543411.jpg)

> [“My advice to all young writers is quite simple. I would caution them never to evade a new experience. I would urge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/my-advice-to-all-young-writers-is-quite-simple-i-would-caution-them/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2aa/john-fante-6848_advice_my-advice-to-all-young-writers-is-quite_113446.jpg)

> [“Nobody crossed him without a battle. He disliked almost everything, particularly his wife, his children, his neighbours, his church, his priest, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/nobody-crossed-him-without-a-battle-he-disliked-almost-everything/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27d/john-fante-6848_children_nobody-crossed-him-without-a-battle-he-d_1640572.jpg)

> [“But, I have to smile, for the salt of the sea is in my blood, and there may be ten thousand roads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/but-i-have-to-smile-for-the-salt-of-the-sea-is-in-my-blood-and-there/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Salt Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/salt-sea-1523723/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55a/john-fante-6848_salt-sea_but-i-have-to-smile-for-the-salt-of-the_478511.jpg)

> [“The bartender put a notepad and a pencil before me. Breathing hard, the pencil trembling, I wrote: Dear Sinclair Lewis: You were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/the-bartender-put-a-notepad-and-a-pencil-before-me-breathing-hard-the/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[American writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-writer/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/john-fante-6848_american-writer_the-bartender-put-a-notepad-and-a-pencil_654092.jpg)

> [Listen closely. There’s a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I don’t give a damn if my work is commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/listen-closely-there-s-a-remote-possibility-that-you-might-learn/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbb/john-fante-6848_believe_listen-closely-there-s-a-remote-possibil_2705579.jpg)

> [“She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have it any way I wanted it, and she tried to pull me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anything-i-could-have-it-any-way-i/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Clean air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-air/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg)

> [“Dear Woman Who Gave Me Life: The callous vexations and perturbations of this night have subsequently resolved themselves to a state which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/dear-woman-who-gave-me-life-the-callous-vexations-and-perturbations/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/john-fante-6848_art_dear-woman-who-gave-me-life-the-callous_1663258.jpg)

> [“IT'S MORNING, TIME to get up, so get up, Arturo, and look for a job. Get out there and look for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/it-s-morning-time-to-get-up-so-get-up-arturo-and-look-for-a-job-get/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Big book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-book/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/688/john-fante-6848_big-book_it-s-morning-time-to-get-up-so-get-up-ar_2471093.jpg)

> [“All that was good in me thrilled in my heart at that moment, all that I hoped for in the profound, obscure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/all-that-was-good-in-me-thrilled-in-my-heart-at-that-moment-all-that/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/937/john-fante-6848_life_all-that-was-good-in-me-thrilled-in-my-h_421532.jpg)

> [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/john-fante-6848_brothers-and-sisters_then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-b_161404.jpg)

> [Ah, Evelyn and Vivian, I love you both, I love you for your sad lives, the empty misery of your coming home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/ah-evelyn-and-vivian-i-love-you-both-i-love-you-for-your-sad-lives/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/john-fante-6848_blood_ah-evelyn-and-vivian-i-love-you-both-i-l_894676.jpg)

> [“Jesus, these Protestants! In my church we didn't sing cheap hymns. With us it was Handel and Palestrina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/jesus-these-protestants-in-my-church-we-didn-t-sing-cheap-hymns-with/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Protestants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protestants/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/john-fante-6848_protestants_jesus-these-protestants-in-my-church-we_25471.jpg)

> [Ask the dust on the road! Ask the Joshua trees standing alone where the Mojave begins. Ask them about Camilla Lopez, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/ask-the-dust-on-the-road-ask-the-joshua-trees-standing-alone-where/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/john-fante-6848_dust_ask-the-dust-on-the-road-ask-the-joshua_1753525.jpg)

> [I write every morning. Two hours. Then I take a break and become my own secretary for a few hours. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-write-every-morning-two-hours-then-i-take-a-break-and-become-my-own/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fa/john-fante-6848_afternoon_i-write-every-morning-two-hours-then-i-t_3109652.jpg)

> [So fuck you, Los Angeles, fuck your palm trees, and your highassed women, and your fancy streets, for I am going home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/so-fuck-you-los-angeles-fuck-your-palm-trees-and-your-highassed-women/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Boulder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boulder/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/john-fante-6848_boulder_so-fuck-you-los-angeles-fuck-your-palm-t_2873476.jpg)

> [“Careful, Arturo Bandini: don't strain your eyesight, remember what happened to Tarkington, remember what happened to James Joyce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/careful-arturo-bandini-don-t-strain-your-eyesight-remember-what/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40b/john-fante-6848_blindness_careful-arturo-bandini-don-t-strain-your_214568.jpg)

> [For your information, a good novel can change the world. Keep that in mind before you attempt to sit down at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/for-your-information-a-good-novel-can-change-the-world-keep-that-in/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/john-fante-6848_believe_for-your-information-a-good-novel-can-ch_2304732.jpg)

> [“Nor did he give a damn for the world either, or the universe, or heaven or hell. But he liked women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/nor-did-he-give-a-damn-for-the-world-either-or-the-universe-or-heaven/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/john-fante-6848_apathy_nor-did-he-give-a-damn-for-the-world-eit_270577.jpg)

> [“I was a coward. I said it aloud to myself: you are a coward. I didn’t care. It was better to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-was-a-coward-i-said-it-aloud-to-myself-you-are-a-coward-i-didn-t/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c4/john-fante-6848_coward_i-was-a-coward-i-said-it-aloud-to-myself_2596696.jpg)

> [“all of us were here for a little while, and then we were somewhere else; we were not alive at all; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/all-of-us-were-here-for-a-little-while-and-then-we-were-somewhere/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e49/john-fante-6848_life_all-of-us-were-here-for-a-little-while-a_1965448.jpg)

> [“I tell you I always tip. It's a matter of principle with me. I'm like Hemingway. I always do it second-nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-tell-you-i-always-tip-it-s-a-matter-of-principle-with-me-i-m-like/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/john-fante-6848_hemingway_i-tell-you-i-always-tip-it-s-a-matter-of_3055857.jpg)

> [“    Breakfast was ready. He could hear his father asking for coffee. Why did his father have to yell all the time? Couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/breakfast-was-ready-he-could-hear-his-father-asking-for-coffee-why/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/john-fante-6848_american-people_breakfast-was-ready-he-could-hear-his-fa_24922.jpg)

> [Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibility-that-you-might-learn/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Believe in yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-yourself/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04f/john-fante-6848_believe-in-yourself_listen-closely-theres-a-remote-possibili_528435.jpg)

> [“She was a hunchback with a sweet smile. She smiled sweetly at anything; she couldn't help it; the trees, me, the grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-a-hunchback-with-a-sweet-smile-she-smiled-sweetly-at-anything/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Blue sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-sky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcb/john-fante-6848_blue-sky_she-was-a-hunchback-with-a-sweet-smile-s_189348.jpg)

> [“She was forcing it with her scorn, the kiss she gave me, the hard curl of her lips, the mockery of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-forcing-it-with-her-scorn-the-kiss-she-gave-me-the-hard-curl/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[Two hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-hands/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b06/john-fante-6848_two-hands_she-was-forcing-it-with-her-scorn-the-ki_949828.jpg)

> [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/)

[John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/)

[America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edd/john-fante-6848_america_i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-mo_108134.jpg)

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                        "text": "Los Angeles, give me some of you! Los Angeles come to me the way I came to you, my feet over your streets, you pretty town I loved you so much, you sad flower in the sand, you pretty town!",
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                        "text": "Ah, Los Angeles! Dust and fog of your lonely streets, I am no longer lonely. Just you wait, all of you ghosts of this room, just you wait, because it will happen, as sure as there's a God in heaven.",
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                        "text": "“Please God, please Knut Hamsun, don't desert me now. I started to write and I wrote: The time has come,\" the Walrus said, To talk of many things: Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax — Of cabbages — and kings —”",
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                        "text": "“Nobody crossed him without a battle. He disliked almost everything, particularly his wife, his children, his neighbours, his church, his priest, his town, his state, his country, and the country from which he emigrated. Nor did he give a damn for the world either, or the sun or the stars, or the universe, or heaven or hell. But he liked women.”",
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                        "text": "“But, I have to smile, for the salt of the sea is in my blood, and there may be ten thousand roads over the land, but they shall never confuse me, for my heart's blood will ever return to its beautiful source.”",
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                        "text": "“The bartender put a notepad and a pencil before me. Breathing hard, the pencil trembling, I wrote: Dear Sinclair Lewis: You were once a god, but now you are a swine. I once reverenced you, admired you, and now you are nothing. I came to shake your hand in adoration, you, Lewis, a giant among American writers, and you rejected it. I swear I shall never read another line of yours again. You are an ill-mannered boor. You have betrayed me. I shall tell H. L. Muller about you, and how you have shamed me. I shall tell the world. Arturo Bandini P.S. I hope you choke on your steak.”",
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                        "text": "Listen closely. There’s a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I don’t give a damn if my work is commercial or not…I’m the writer. If what I write is good, then people will read it. That’s why literature exists. An author puts his heart and guts on the page. For your information, a good novel can change the world. Keep that in mind before you attempt to sit down at a typewriter. Never waste time on something you don’t believe in yourself.",
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                        "text": "“She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have it any way I wanted it, and she tried to pull me to her, but no, let's wait a while. I tell you I want to talk to you, I tell you money is no object, here's three more, that makes eight dollars, but it doesn't matter. You just keep that eight bucks and buy yourself something nice. And then I snapped my fingers like a man remembering something, something important, an engagement. 'Say!' I said. 'That reminds me. What time is it?' Her chin was at my neck, stroking it. 'Don't you worry about the time, honey. You can stay all night.' A man of importance, ah yes, now I remembered, my publisher, he was getting in tonight by plane. Out at Burbank, away out in Burbank. Have to grab a cab and taxi out there, have to hurry. Goodbye, goodbye, you keep that eight bucks, you buy yourself something nice, goodbye, goodbye, running down the stairs, running away, the welcome fog in the doorway below, you keep that eight bucks, oh sweet fog I see you and I'm coming, you clean air, you wonderful world, I'm coming to you, goodbye, yelling up the stairs, I'll see you again, you keep that eight dollars and buy yourself something nice. Eight dollars pouring out of my eyes. Oh Jesus kill me dead and ship my body home, kill me dead and make me die like a pagan fool with no priest to absolve me, no extreme unction, eight dollars, eight dollars ..”",
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                        "text": "“Dear Woman Who Gave Me Life: The callous vexations and perturbations of this night have subsequently resolved themselves to a state which precipitates me, Arturo Bandini, into a brobdingnagian and gargantuan decision. I inform you of this in no uncertain terms. Ergo, I now leave you and your ever charming daughter (my beloved sister Mona) and seek the fabulous usufructs of my incipient career in profound solitude. Which is to say, tonight I depart for the metropolis to the east — our own Los Angeles, the city of angels. I entrust you to the benign generosity of your brother, Frank Scarpi, who is, as the phrase has it, a good family man (sic!). I am penniless but I urge you in no uncertain terms to cease your cerebral anxiety about my destiny, for truly it lies in the palm of the immortal gods. I have made the lamentable discovery over a period of years that living with you and Mona is deleterious to the high and magnanimous purpose of Art, and I repeat to you in no uncertain terms that I am an artist, a creator beyond question. And, per se, the fumbling fulminations of cerebration and intellect find little fruition in the debauched, distorted hegemony that we poor mortals, for lack of a better and more concise terminology, call home. In no uncertain terms I give you my love and blessing, and I swear to my sincerity, when I say in no uncertain terms that I not only forgive you for what has ruefully transpired this night, but for all other nights. Ergo, I assume in no uncertain terms that you will reciprocate in kindred fashion. May I say in conclusion that I have much to thank you for, O woman who breathed the breath of life into my brain of destiny? Aye, it is, it is. Signed. Arturo Gabriel Bandini. Suitcase in hand, I walked down to the depot. There was a ten-minute wait for the midnight train for Los Angeles. I sat down and began to think about the new novel.”",
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                        "text": "“IT'S MORNING, TIME to get up, so get up, Arturo, and look for a job. Get out there and look for what you'll never find. You're a thief and you're a crab-killer and a lover of women in clothes closets. You'll never find a job! Every morning I got up feeling like that. Now I've got to find a job, damn it to hell. I ate breakfast, put a book under my arm, pencils in my pocket, and started out. Down the stairs I went, down the street, sometimes hot and sometimes cold, sometimes foggy and sometimes clear. It never mattered, with a book under my arm, looking for a job. What job, Arturo? Ho ho! A job for you? Think of what you are, my boy! A crab-killer. A thief. You look at naked women in clothes closets. And you expect to get a job! How funny! But there he goes, the idiot, with a big book. Where the devil are you going, Arturo? Why do you go up this street and not that? Why go east - why not go west? Answer me, you thief! Who'll give you a job, you swine - who? But there's a park across town, Arturo. It's called Banning Park. There are a lot of beautiful eucalyptus trees in it, and green lawns. What a place to read! Go there, Arturo. Read Nietzsche. Read Schopenhauer. Get into the company of the mighty. A job? fooey! Go sit under a eucalyptus tree reading a book looking for a job. ”",
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                        "text": "“All that was good in me thrilled in my heart at that moment, all that I hoped for in the profound, obscure meaning of my existence. Here was the endlessly mute placidity of nature, indifferent to the great city; here was the desert beneath these streets, around these streets, waiting for the city to die, to cover it with timeless sand once more. There came over me a terrifying sense of understanding about the meaning and the pathetic destiny of men. The desert was always there, a patient white animal, waiting for men to die, for civilizations to flicker and pass into the darkness. Then men seemed brave to me, and I was proud to be numbered among them. All the evil of the world seemed not evil at all, but inevitable and good and part of that endless struggle to keep the desert down.”",
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                        "text": "“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held his book in my hands and trembled as he spoke to me of man and the world, of love and wisdom, pain and guilt, and I knew I would never be the same. His name was Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky. He knew more of fathers and sons than any man in the world, and of brothers and sisters, priests and rogues, guilt and innocence. Dostoyevsky changed me. The Idiot, The Possessed, The Brothers Karamazov, The Gambler. He turned me inside out. I found I could breathe, could see invisible horizons. The hatred for my father melted. I loved my father, poor, suffering, haunted wretch. I loved my mother too, and all my family. It was time to become a man, to leave San Elmo and go out into the world. I wanted to think and feel like Dostoyevsky. I wanted to write. The week before I left town the draft board summoned me to Sacramento for my physical. I was glad to go. Someone other than myself could make my decisions. The army turned me down. I had asthma. Inflammation of the bronchial tubes. “That’s nothing. I’ve always had it.” “See your doctor.” I got the needed information from a medical book at the public library. Was asthma fatal? It could be. And so be it. Dostoyevsky had epilepsy, I had asthma. To write well a man must have a fatal ailment. It was the only way to deal with the presence of death.”",
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                        "text": "Ah, Evelyn and Vivian, I love you both, I love you for your sad lives, the empty misery of your coming home at dawn. You too are alone, but you are not like Arturo Bandini, who is neither fish, fowl nor good red herring. So have your champagne, because I love you both, and you too, Vivian, even if your mouth looks like it had been dug out with raw fingernails and your old child's eyes swim in blood written like mad sonnets.",
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                        "text": "“Jesus, these Protestants! In my church we didn't sing cheap hymns. With us it was Handel and Palestrina.”",
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                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Ask the dust on the road! Ask the Joshua trees standing alone where the Mojave begins. Ask them about Camilla Lopez, and they will whisper her name.",
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                        "text": "I write every morning. Two hours. Then I take a break and become my own secretary for a few hours. If I am \"hot\" I write in the afternoon and at night too.",
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                        "text": "So fuck you, Los Angeles, fuck your palm trees, and your highassed women, and your fancy streets, for I am going home, back to Colorado, back to the best damned town in the USA - Boulder, Colorado.",
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                        "text": "“    Breakfast was ready. He could hear his father asking for coffee. Why did his father have to yell all the time? Couldn't he talk in a low voice? Everybody in the neighborhood knew everything that went on in their house on account of his father constantly shouting. The Moreys next door — you never heard a peep out of them, never; quiet American people. But his father wasn't satisfied with being an Italian, he had to be a noisy Italian. 'Arturo,' his mother called. 'Breakfast.' As if he didn't know breakfast was ready! As if everybody in Colorado didn't know by this time that the Bandini family was having breakfast!”",
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                        "text": "Listen closely. Theres a remote possibility that you might learn something: First, I dont give a damn if my work is commercial or notIm the writer. If what I write is good, then people will read it. Thats why literature exists. An author puts his heart and guts on the page. For your information, a good novel can change the world. Keep that in mind before you attempt to sit down at a typewriter. Never waste time on something you dont believe in yourself.",
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                        "text": "“She was a hunchback with a sweet smile. She smiled sweetly at anything; she couldn't help it; the trees, me, the grass, anything. The basket pulled her down, dragging her toward the ground. She was such a tiny woman, with a hurt face, as if slapped forever. She wore a funny old hat, an absurd hat, a maddening hat, a hat to make me cry, a hat with faded red berries on the brim. And there she was, smiling at everything, struggling across the carpet with a heavy basket containing Lord knew what, wearing a plumed hat with red berries. I got up. It was so mysterious. There I was, like magic, standing up, my two feet on the ground, my eyes drenched. I said, \"Let me help.\" She smiled again and gave me the basket. We began to walk. She led the way. Beyond the trees it was stifling. And she smiled. It was so sweet it nearly tore my head off. She talked, she told me things I never remembered. It didn't matter. In a« dream she held me, in a dream I followed under the blinding sun. For blocks we went forward. I hoped it would never end. Always she talked in a low voice made of human music. What words! What she said! I remembered nothing. I was only happy. But in my heart I was dying. It should have been so. We stepped from so many curbs, I wondered why she did not sit upon one and hold my head while I drifted away. It was the chance that never came again. That old woman with the bent back! Old woman, I feel so joyfully your pain. Ask me a favor, you old woman you! Anything. To die is easy. Make it that. To cry is easy, lift your skirt and let me cry and let my tears wash your feet to let you know I know what life has been for you, because my back is bent too, but my heart is whole, my tears are delicious, my love is yours, to give you joy where God has failed. To die is so easy and you may have my life if you wish it, you old woman, you hurt me so, you did, I will do anything for you, to die for you, the blood of my eighteen years flowing in the gutters of Wilmington and down to the sea for you, for you that you might find such joy as is now mine and stand erect without the horror of that twist. I left the old woman at her door. The trees shimmered. The clouds laughed. The blue sky took me up. Where am I? Is this Wilmington, California? Haven't I been here before? A melody moved my feet. The air soared with Arturo in it, puffing him in and out and making him something and nothing. My heart laughed and laughed. Goodbye to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and all of you, you fools, I am much greater than all of you! Through my veins ran music of blood. Would it last? It could not last. I must hurry. But where? And I ran toward home. Now I am home. I left the book in the park. To hell with it. No more books for me. I kissed my mother. I clung to her passionately. On my knees I fell at her feet to kiss her feet and cling to her ankles until it must have hurt her and amazed her that it was I.”",
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                        "text": "“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger home, to read the Times, to find out what's going on in the world. I have vomited at their newspapers, read their literature, observed their customs, eaten their food, desired their women, gaped at their art. But I am poor, and my name ends with a soft vowel, and they hate me and my father, and my father's father, and they would have my blood and put me down, but they are old now, dying in the sun and in the hot dust of the road, and I am young and full of hope and love for my country and my times, and when I say Greaser to you it is not my heart that speaks, but the quivering of an old wound, and I am ashamed of the terrible thing I have done.”",
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