--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm always very grateful for stories…" description: "\"I'm always very grateful for stories about the great coffeehouse wits in Vienna at the turn of the last century. People would wait for a chance to stan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/david-salle-11131_chance_i-m-always-very-grateful-for-stories-abo_2444350.jpg" --- # I'm always very grateful for stories about the great… ![“I'm always very grateful for stories about the great coffeehouse wits in Vienna at the turn of the last century. People would wait for a chance to stand near the table where the great wits were trading witticisms as a spectator sport because it was that good. They were that on fire and there was…” quote by David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/david-salle-11131_chance_i-m-always-very-grateful-for-stories-abo_2444350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/david-salle-11131_chance_i-m-always-very-grateful-for-stories-abo_2444350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/david-salle-11131_chance_i-m-always-very-grateful-for-stories-abo_2444350.jpg) > “I'm always very grateful for stories about the great coffeehouse wits in Vienna at the turn of the last century. People would wait for a chance to stand near the table where the great wits were trading witticisms as a spectator sport because it was that good. They were that on fire and there was no product. They didn't write anything down. It was just the pleasure of engagement with the moment. I think that's my kind of ideal of how I live.” [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Vienna’s coffeehouse culture fostered spontaneous, communal wit, valuing live exchange over written work. **In simple terms:** Live, shared conversation was the ideal artistic experience. Key Takeaway Seek spontaneous, communal creative moments. Themes art culture conversation history community Mood nostalgic inspirational Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - museum curation - creative writing workshops - public lectures - social gatherings Key Concepts historical sociology creative collaboration intellectual salons Questions to Reflect On - How can we recreate spontaneous artistic dialogue today? - What value does oral tradition hold in contemporary art? A Different Perspective Modern digital media may lack the immediacy of such live exchanges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trading/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Witticisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witticisms/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/great-wits-are-sure-to-madness-near-allied-and-thin-partitions-do/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“Great wits are to madness near allied And thin partitions do their bounds divide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/great-wits-are-to-madness-near-allied-and-thin-partitions-do-their/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Great wits, like great beauties, look upon mere esteem as a flat insipid thing; nothing less than admiration will content them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/great-wits-like-great-beauties-look-upon-mere-esteem-as-a-flat/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/as-it-is-the-characteristic-of-great-wits-to-say-much-in-few-words-so/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“You long for life and try to settle the problems of life by a logical tangle. And how tiresome, how insolent your outbursts are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-long-for-life-and-try-to-settle-the-problems-of-life-by-a-logical/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Using your imagination means that you are using your most powerful tool of creation, manifestation and modification”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-holder/using-your-imagination-means-that-you-are-using-your-most-powerful/) Dorothy Holder > [to the many, witticisms not only require to be explained, like riddles, but are also like new shoes, which people require to wear many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/to-the-many-witticisms-not-only-require-to-be-explained-like-riddles/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [Twitter is a competition to write the most retweeted witticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-kan/twitter-is-a-competition-to-write-the-most-retweeted-witticisms/) [Justin Kan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-kan/) > [Avoid witticisms at the expense of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/avoid-witticisms-at-the-expense-of-others/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Genuine witticisms surprise those who say them as much as those who listen to them; they arise in us in spite of us, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/genuine-witticisms-surprise-those-who-say-them-as-much-as-those-who/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“Did all Finns like to make clever witticisms about life? Or was it just this one driver? Tsukuru hoped it was the latter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/did-all-finns-like-to-make-clever-witticisms-about-life-or-was-it/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I heard your jokes, Doc, good thing there were breasts involved.” “I guess I always thought the cheers were for my witticisms.” “Oh yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tufo/i-heard-your-jokes-doc-good-thing-there-were-breasts-involved-i-guess/) [Mark Tufo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tufo/) > [Witticisms are fire-arms, that make a noise and give pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-de-guerin/witticisms-are-fire-arms-that-make-a-noise-and-give-pain/) [Eugenie de Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-de-guerin/) > [“But this small episode is as good an illustration as any of the hazards of uttering witticisms. By the very nature of a witticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/but-this-small-episode-is-as-good-an-illustration-as-any-of-the/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [“So I don’t think I’ll make Poet Laureate, but I swear I’m not twisted and bitter, If finely-wrought talents don’t weigh in the balance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosy-cole/so-i-don-t-think-i-ll-make-poet-laureate-but-i-swear-i-m-not-twisted/) Rosy Cole ## More by David Salle > [What most paintings do is give you a path for your eye to move around. The painting actually tells your eye, go here, now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-most-paintings-do-is-give-you-a-path-for-your-eye-to-move-around/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I've always read, I've always admired writers and was lucky really to meet some extraordinary ones and become friends. Certain times you just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-ve-always-read-i-ve-always-admired-writers-and-was-lucky-really-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Truth is, I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I got out of Cal Arts. I think I wasted a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/truth-is-i-didn-t-know-what-the-hell-i-was-doing-when-i-got-out-of/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel that the only thing that really matters in art and life is to go against the tidal wave of literalism and literal-mindedness-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-that-the-only-thing-that-really-matters-in-art-and-life-is-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Since I moved six or seven times the first year I was in New York, I had to be able to roll up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/since-i-moved-six-or-seven-times-the-first-year-i-was-in-new-york-i/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [People are still making paintings. People are still enjoying paintings, looking at paintings. Paintings still have something to tell us. There's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-are-still-making-paintings-people-are-still-enjoying-paintings/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel like all the American artists are aesthetically not very interesting and mired in a complaining relationship to its own culture, whereas the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-like-all-the-american-artists-are-aesthetically-not-very/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I think people have to be given - or take - the permission to say that something is nothing. Just because it's in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-think-people-have-to-be-given-or-take-the-permission-to-say-that/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [There are so many different ways to talk and think about art. We just spoke about when attitude becomes form. But when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/there-are-so-many-different-ways-to-talk-and-think-about-art-we-just/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I started when I was nine. Really, everything I know about color theory, composition, drawing, and painting, I learned when I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-started-when-i-was-nine-really-everything-i-know-about-color-theory/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [If you go to a concert, you will notice, is it loud? Is the music fast? Is it predominately strings or brass? There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/if-you-go-to-a-concert-you-will-notice-is-it-loud-is-the-music-fast/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I was actually dumbfounded by how some artists talked to each other. For example, it was a normal night at a bar, nothing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-was-actually-dumbfounded-by-how-some-artists-talked-to-each-other/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [What if everything in a museum is crap? It's entirely possible; it's not the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-if-everything-in-a-museum-is-crap-it-s-entirely-possible-it-s/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“good art illustrates anything at all, it’s likely to be a story you didn’t even know needed telling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/good-art-illustrates-anything-at-all-it-s-likely-to-be-a-story-you/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“How a painter treats this edge is the real subject of realist painting; how the brush behaves in the vicinity of an edge gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/how-a-painter-treats-this-edge-is-the-real-subject-of-realist/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) [Explore all 61 David Salle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. 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With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) Alejandro Taubas > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. 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Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm always very grateful for stories about the great coffeehouse wits in Vienna at the turn of the last century. People would wait for a chance to stand near the table where the great wits were trading witticisms as a spectator sport because it was that good. They were that on fire and there was no product. They didn't write anything down. It was just the pleasure of engagement with the moment. 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