1960s Quote by Lewis H. Lapham
“Usually when I drank too much, I could guess why I did so, the objective being to murder a state of consciousness that I didn't have the courage to sustain--a fear of heights, which sometimes during the carnival of the 1960s accompanied my attempts to transform the bourgeois journalist into an avant-garde novelist. The stepped-up ambition was a commonplace among the would-be William Faulkners of my generation; nearly always it resulted in commercial failure and literary embarrassment.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, 1970s (hypothetical)
The passage reflects a self‑destructive attempt to escape personal fear through excess, leading to artistic ambition that ultimately fails and causes embarrassment.
In simple terms: Drinking to avoid fear fuels reckless artistic dreams that often flop.
Key Takeaway
Avoid using self‑destructive habits to chase creative goals.
Themes
addiction
fear
artistic ambition
self‑sabotage
culture
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
literary
personal
When to use this quote
- nightlife excess
- writing attempts
- literary circles
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
psychology
creative struggle
mid‑century counterculture
Questions to Reflect On
- What healthier ways can you confront personal fears?
- How does self‑sabotage hinder creative growth?
A Different Perspective
The narrator’s narrative may romanticize failure rather than address underlying issues.
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