--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m crazy about this City. Daylight…" description: "\"“I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see looking faces and it’s not easy to tell w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg" --- # I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor… ![“I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see looking faces and it’s not easy to tell which are people, which the work of stonemasons. Below is shadow where any blasé thing takes place: clarinets and lovemaking, fists and the voices of…” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg) > ““I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see looking faces and it’s not easy to tell which are people, which the work of stonemasons. Below is shadow where any blasé thing takes place: clarinets and lovemaking, fists and the voices of sorrowful women. A city like this one makes me dream tall and feel in on things. Hep. It’s the bright steel rocking above the shade below that does it. When I look over strips of green grass lining the river, at church steeples and into the cream-and-copper halls of apartment buildings, I’m strong. Alone, yes, but top-notch and indestructible-like the City in 1926 when all the wars are over and there will never be another one. The people down there in the shadow are happy about that. At last, at last, everything’s ahead. The smart ones say so and people listening to them and reading what they write down agree: Here comes the new. Look out.”” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The city’s stark contrasts inspire awe and resilience; amidst light and shadow, the narrator feels powerful and hopeful. **In simple terms:** The city’s contrasts inspire strength and hope. Key Takeaway Find strength in urban contrasts and personal resilience. Themes urban life contrast hope Mood reflective hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - urban planning - personal growth Key Concepts light vs shadow human experience Questions to Reflect On - How does environment shape personal identity? - What role does contrast play in artistic inspiration? A Different Perspective May romanticize hardship, overlooking systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [All the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow. A happy life is not one filled with only sunshine, but one which uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/all-the-masterpieces-of-art-contain-both-light-and-shadow-a-happy/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I was born in New York City in 1926, four years after my parents and my brother migrated to the United States from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fogel/i-was-born-in-new-york-city-in-1926-four-years-after-my-parents-and/) [Robert Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fogel/) > [“Having grown up here, I always wonder what it would be like to see this city as a tourist. Is it ever a disappointment?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/having-grown-up-here-i-always-wonder-what-it-would-be-like-to-see/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [New York feels like the whole city is into dance music. That's not how it felt when I was younger. There was more of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/new-york-feels-like-the-whole-city-is-into-dance-music-that-s-not-how/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [I like the city. I like the concrete. I like big business. I like being a CEO of my own company and having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-like-the-city-i-like-the-concrete-i-like-big-business-i-like-being/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [I like being from a city that is not entrenched in show business. When you're in New York City or Los Angeles, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/i-like-being-from-a-city-that-is-not-entrenched-in-show-business-when/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [I'm a West Coast dude, definitely, but I do like the city of D.C. It's cool. A lot of things to do. It's just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-ariza/i-m-a-west-coast-dude-definitely-but-i-do-like-the-city-of-d-c-it-s/) [Trevor Ariza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-ariza/) > [I don't like L.A. I've always said that, and people hate on me for it. I don't really like the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shenae-grimes/i-don-t-like-l-a-i-ve-always-said-that-and-people-hate-on-me-for-it-i/) [Shenae Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shenae-grimes/) > [Toronto is like a city of grandmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-sweatshirt/toronto-is-like-a-city-of-grandmas/) [Earl Sweatshirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-sweatshirt/) > [I stared out the window the whole way, because it was raining, which is how I like the city best. It looks like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-stared-out-the-window-the-whole-way-because-it-was-raining-which-is/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [London is like no other city I know in its ability to become beautiful. You can suddenly turn a corner and there are odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/london-is-like-no-other-city-i-know-in-its-ability-to-become/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [A movie is like a city. There's, like, 150 people working, and it's all because of something that came out of your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/a-movie-is-like-a-city-there-s-like-150-people-working-and-it-s-all/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [Calcutta is a very culturally-forward city. People encourage art, music, literature and I just feel like that's a city that looks for experiences over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaba-gupta/calcutta-is-a-very-culturally-forward-city-people-encourage-art-music/) [Masaba Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaba-gupta/) > [I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-everything-about-philadelphia-and-its-food-is-like-the-city/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [Memphis is just like any other city. I'm pretty sure it's like the streets of Baltimore, with your hoods and traps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-gotti/memphis-is-just-like-any-other-city-i-m-pretty-sure-it-s-like-the/) [Yo Gotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-gotti/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Green grass quotes > [“we got out of the car for air and suddenly both of us were stoned with joy to realize that in the darkness all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/we-got-out-of-the-car-for-air-and-suddenly-both-of-us-were-stoned/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I'm not the sort of person who poses in their underwear. I hate the red carpet. I prefer the green grass. After the games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-neuer/i-m-not-the-sort-of-person-who-poses-in-their-underwear-i-hate-the/) [Manuel Neuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-neuer/) > [“All at once the hard, cold earth seemed to explode. The brown surface of the world dissolved and in its place was an impossible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/all-at-once-the-hard-cold-earth-seemed-to-explode-the-brown-surface/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Green grass breaks through snow, Artemis pleads for my help, I am so cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/green-grass-breaks-through-snow-artemis-pleads-for-my-help-i-am-so/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Spring with its wavin' green grass and heaps of sweet-smellin' flowers on every hill and in every dale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bean/spring-with-its-wavin-green-grass-and-heaps-of-sweet-smellin-flowers/) [Roy Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bean/) > [A Song of the good green grass! A song no more of the city streets; A song of farms - a song of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/a-song-of-the-good-green-grass-a-song-no-more-of-the-city-streets-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Such a morning it is when love leans through geranium windows and calls with a cockerel's tongue. When red-haired girls scamper like roses over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-lee/such-a-morning-it-is-when-love-leans-through-geranium-windows-and/) [Laurie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-lee/) > [“There was certainly plenty to watch and listen to. The tree which Digory had noticed was now a full-grown beech whose branches swayed gently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/there-was-certainly-plenty-to-watch-and-listen-to-the-tree-which/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [How lush and lusty the grass looks! how green!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-lush-and-lusty-the-grass-looks-how-green/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Each day the sun shone, the birds lingered, though the trees were turning, purely out of habit, and their rose and yellow and rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-enright/each-day-the-sun-shone-the-birds-lingered-though-the-trees-were/) [Elizabeth Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-enright/) > [Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/tis-moonlight-summer-moonlight-all-soft-and-still-and-fair-the-solemn/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Do you love this world? Do you cherish your humble and silky life? Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath? Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/do-you-love-this-world-do-you-cherish-your-humble-and-silky-life-do/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“The grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence. Many politicians promise green, green grass by blending niceties with delusion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/the-grass-always-seems-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence-many/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [You pile of stones, you waste, you desolation, I'll stuff you with misery till it comes out of your eyes. I'll change your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/you-pile-of-stones-you-waste-you-desolation-i-ll-stuff-you-with/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [“Townsfolk have no conception of the peace that mother nature bestows, and as long as that peace is unfound the spirit must seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/townsfolk-have-no-conception-of-the-peace-that-mother-nature-bestows/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) Browse all 126 Green grass quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see looking faces and it’s not easy to tell which are people, which the work of stonemasons. Below is shadow where any blasé thing takes place: clarinets and lovemaking, fists and the voices of sorrowful women. A city like this one makes me dream tall and feel in on things. Hep. It’s the bright steel rocking above the shade below that does it. When I look over strips of green grass lining the river, at church steeples and into the cream-and-copper halls of apartment buildings, I’m strong. Alone, yes, but top-notch and indestructible-like the City in 1926 when all the wars are over and there will never be another one. The people down there in the shadow are happy about that. At last, at last, everything’s ahead. The smart ones say so and people listening to them and reading what they write down agree: Here comes the new. Look out.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Toni Morrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slants-like-a-razor-cutting-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Green grass" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slants-like-a-razor-cutting-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/toni-morrison-271_green-grass_i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slant_2105782.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’m crazy about this City. Daylight slants like a razor cutting the buildings in half. In the top half I see…” — Toni Morrison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Toni Morrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I’m crazy about this City. Daylight...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slants-like-a-razor-cutting-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-m-crazy-about-this-city-daylight-slants-like-a-razor-cutting-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```