David Leavitt – Quotes

‘You might think of

‘You might think of combinatorics as a machine too’, the major says. ‘A different sort of machine, though. Have you heard of Babbage’s analytic engine? He never built it. … I have an analytic machine of my own-right here.’ He taps his own skull. David Leavitt

I could hear the

I could hear the knock and whistle of the water pipes, the purr of the calico cat. And at that moment a happiness filled me that was pure and perfect and yet it was bled with despair – as if I had been handed a cup of ambrosial nectar to drink from and knew that … Read more

Obviously any fiction is

Obviously any fiction is going to be a combination of what is invented, what is overheard, what is experienced, what is experienced by people close to you, what you are told, what you have read, all mixed together into this kind of soup which, like any good soup, at the end you cannot really distinguish … Read more

We all spend so

We all spend so much time worrying about the future that the present moment slips right out of our hands. And so all we have left is retrospection and anticipation, retrospection and anticipation. In which case what’s left to recall but past anticipation? What’s left to anticipate but future retrospection? David Leavitt

In a memoir, I

In a memoir, I think, the contract implies a certain degree of truth. I think you have to be as true to your memory and your experience as you possibly can. David Leavitt

Novels are forged in

Novels are forged in passion, demand fidelity and commitment, often drive you to boredom or rage, sleep with you at night. They are the long haul. They are marriage. Stories, on the other hand, you can lose yourself in for a few weeks and then wrap up, or grow tired of and abandon and (maybe) … Read more

‘You might think of

I could hear the

Obviously any fiction is

We all spend so

In a memoir, I

Novels are forged in

It is so common

Having reached a point

I think it’s very

You are not supposed