Don DeLillo Quotes

A collection of quotes by Don DeLillo.

Don DeLillo is an American author widely regarded as one of the most significant voices in contemporary literature. He was born on November 20, 1936, in New York City. DeLillo's works often explore themes of postmodernism, consumerism, technology, and the anxieties of modern life.

He began his writing career in the late 1960s and gained recognition for his debut novel, "Americana" (1971), which delved into the dark side of America's obsession with media and entertainment. However, it was with his eighth novel, "White Noise" (1985), that DeLillo garnered widespread acclaim. This satirical novel examines the fear of death, the impact of technology, and the role of media in shaping our perception of reality.

DeLillo's other notable works include "Libra" (1988), a fictionalized account of the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, and "Underworld" (1997), an epic exploration of American history and culture through the lens of a missing baseball. His writing style is often characterized by precise and poetic language, intellectual depth, and a keen observation of contemporary society.

Throughout his career, Don DeLillo has been the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award. His works continue to captivate readers and provide profound insights into the complexities of the modern world.

There was something touching about the fact that Murray was

There was something touching about the fact that Murray was dressed almost totally in corduroy.

Beauty Humor Funny

Thousands stand and chant. Around them in the world, people

Thousands stand and chant. Around them in the world, people ride escalators going up and sneak secret glances at the faces coming down. People dangle teabags over hot water in white cups. Cars run silently on the autobahns, streaks of painted light. People sit at desks and stare at office walls. They smell their shirts and drop them in the hamper. People bind themselves into numbered seats and fly across time zones and high cirrus and deep night, knowing there is something they've forgotten to do.

Life People

Every sentence has a truth waiting at the end of it and the

Every sentence has a truth waiting at the end of it and the writer learns how to know it when he finally gets there.

Truth Theend

The view is endlessly fulfilling. It is like the answer to a

The view is endlessly fulfilling. It is like the answer to a lifetime of questions and vague cravings.

Nature Beauty Peace Self Knowledge Eureka Moments

I saw a photograph of a wedding conducted by Reverend Moon o

I saw a photograph of a wedding conducted by Reverend Moon of the Unification Church. I wanted to understand this event, and the only way to understand it was to write about it.

Wedding

That's the world out there, little green apples and infectio

That's the world out there, little green apples and infectious disease.

Beauty Humanity World Good And Evil Ugliness Infectious Diseases Summary

The writer is the person who stands outside society, indepen

The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence.

Society

People who are powerless make an open theater of violence.

People who are powerless make an open theater of violence.

Power

I felt Joyce was an influence on my fiction, but in a very g

I felt Joyce was an influence on my fiction, but in a very general way, as a kind of inspiration and a model for the beauty of language.

Beauty

I watch movies occasionally, and I watch documentaries. Virt

I watch movies occasionally, and I watch documentaries. Virtually nothing else.

Movies

I think more than writers, the major influences on me have b

I think more than writers, the major influences on me have been European movies, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism.

Movies

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential,

In a repressive society, a writer can be deeply influential, but in a society that's filled with glut and repetition and endless consumption, the act of terror may be the only meaningful act.

Society

The future belongs to crowds.

The future belongs to crowds.

Future

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its ow

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its own massive fantasies.

Power

People who are in power make their arrangements in secret, l

People who are in power make their arrangements in secret, largely as a way of maintaining and furthering that power.

Power

If we are on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perf

If we are on the outside, we assume a conspiracy is the perfect working of a scheme. Silent nameless men with unadorned hearts. A conspiracy is everything that ordinary life is not. It's the inside game, cold, sure, undistracted, forever closed off to us. We are the flawed ones, the innocents, trying to make some rough sense of the daily jostle. Conspirators have a logic and a daring beyond our reach. All conspiracies are the same taut story of men who find coherence in some criminal act.

Conspiracy

I think it's only in a crisis that Americans see other peopl

I think it's only in a crisis that Americans see other people. It has to be an American crisis, of course. If two countries fight that do not supply the Americans with some precious commodity, then the education of the public does not take place. But when the dictator falls, when the oil is threatened, then you turn on the television and they tell you where the country is, what the language is, how to pronounce the names of the leaders, what the religion is all about, and maybe you can cut out recipes in the newspaper of Persian dishes.

America

Don't you realize that as long as you have to sit down to pe

Don't you realize that as long as you have to sit down to pee, you'll never be a dominant force in the world? You'll never be a convincing technocrat or middle manager. Because people will know. She's in there sitting down.

Women

Film is more than the twentieth-century art. It's another pa

Film is more than the twentieth-century art. It's another part of the twentieth-century mind. It's the world seen from inside. We've come to a certain point in the history of film. If a thing can be filmed, the film is implied in the thing itself. This is where we are. The twentieth century is on film. You have to ask yourself if there's anything about us more important than the fact that we're constantly on film, constantly watching ourselves.

Film / Filmmaking / Movies

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel i

If I were a writer, how I would enjoy being told the novel is dead. How liberating to work in the margins, outside a central perception. You are the ghoul of literature. Lovely.

Authors & Writing