Famous quotes by Famous people

” I read a lot of poetry, and I love what it does with language. I love music, too, and I think there’s probably no coincidence there, that the rhythm of the words is almost as important as the words themselves, and when you can get the two working together, which usually takes me about 20 goes, I feel a huge satisfaction. “

” I think with all my books, language has been their subject as much as anything else. Language can elide or displace or sideline whole groups of people. You can’t necessarily change the way language is used, but if it becomes something you’re conscious of… that gives you a certain power over it. “

” Each language has its own take on the world. That’s why a translation can never be absolutely exact, and therefore, when you enter another language and speak with its speakers, you become a slightly different person, you learn a different sort of world. “

” For years I’ve wanted to write about the Australian countryside, but, like most Australians, I’ve only got a tourist’s knowledge of it. I thought that if I disobeyed that basic rule of writing – write about what you know – I’d write a thin and inauthentic book. “

” One of the things I love about writing is the way you can use what you know and what you’ve experienced, without actually writing about yourself. I’ve given many of my experiences and perceptions to many of the characters in the book, but none of them is me. “