Philip Roth Thoughts

Everyone becomes a part of history whether they like it or not and whether they know it or not.

Literature takes a habit of mind that has disappeared. It requires silence, some form of isolation, and sustained concentration in the presence of an enigmatic thing.

The horror of being caged has lost its thrill.

Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.

There’s no remaking reality... Just take it as it comes. Hold your ground and take it as it comes. There’s no other way.

Don't judge it. Just write it. Don't judge it. It's not for you to judge it.

I came to New York and in only hours, New York did what it does to people: awakened the possibilities. Hope breaks out.

A life of writing books is a trying adventure in which you cannot find out where you are unless you lose your way.

Too late, but I understand. That we don't perish of understanding everything too late, that is a miracle. But we do perish of that -- of just that.

Unless one is inordinately fond of subordination, one is always at war.