Leslie Fiedler Quotes

A collection of quotes by Leslie Fiedler.

Leslie Fiedler (1917-2003) was an American literary critic and professor known for his provocative and influential works on American literature and culture. He taught at various universities, including the University of Montana and the State University of New York at Buffalo. Fiedler's most famous book, "Love and Death in the American Novel" (1960), explored themes of sexuality and identity in American literature. He was known for his controversial and unconventional views, challenging traditional literary norms and sparking debates within the academic community.

All good criticism should be judged the way art is. You shou

All good criticism should be judged the way art is. You shouldn't read it the way you read history or science.

Art

It's funny to be a critic.

It's funny to be a critic.

Funny

My assignment is what every writer's assignment is: tell the

My assignment is what every writer's assignment is: tell the truth of his own time.

Truth

Hemingway seems to be in a funny position. People nowadays c

Hemingway seems to be in a funny position. People nowadays can't identify with him closely as a member of their own generation, and he isn't yet historical.

Funny

I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.

I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.

Love

Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously o

Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect the finicky canons of the genteel tradition and the depressing pieties of the Culture Religion of Modernism.

Criticism

To be an American (unlike being English or French or whateve

To be an American (unlike being English or French or whatever) is precisely to imagine a destiny rather than to inherit one; since we have always been, insofar as we are Americans at all, inhabitants of myth rather than history.

America

The text is merely one of the contexts of a piece of literat

The text is merely one of the contexts of a piece of literature, its lexical or verbal one, no more or less important than the sociological, psychological, historical, anthropological or generic.

Criticism

I have, I admit, a low tolerance for detached chronicling an

I have, I admit, a low tolerance for detached chronicling and cool analysis.

Cool

When I was 12 years old, someone took me to see Martha Graha

When I was 12 years old, someone took me to see Martha Graham. It was nothing like what I thought of as serious dancing and even then I knew I was having a great experience. It was as if somebody was moving through space like no one ever did before.

Experience

I think the pattern of my essays is, A funny thing happened

I think the pattern of my essays is, A funny thing happened to me on my way through Finnegans Wake.

Funny

Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student as

Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had really wanted to know.

Teacher