Category Archives: Quotations

Things people said.

The Road of Paint: Zadie Smith, “Henry Taylor’s Promiscuous Painting,” New Yorker, July 30, 2018 issue

Posted on July 26, 2018 by JMN

[Henry Taylor’s paintings are transfixing for me. I’m infinity shy of his league as a painter, but I was touched by the “road of chaos… road of paint” phrase that Zadie Smith uses to name the path that Taylor has … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Gold

Posted on July 23, 2018 by JMN

“I’m not a cultural anthropologist,” he once said. “I write about taco stands and fancy French restaurants to try to get people less afraid of their neighbors and to live in their entire city instead of sticking to their one … Continue reading →

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Seduction by Menu

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

“The menu should read like a poem,” Ms. de Boer said. “You should seduce the diner. People don’t know they want to eat deep-fried mackerel with aioli, so you’ve got to tell a story and get them on your wavelength.” … Continue reading →

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Make Someone Smile

Posted on July 18, 2018 by JMN

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing,” the street artist Banksy wrote in 2001. “And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty, you can make someone smile … Continue reading →

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Dear Mother… Charles

Posted on July 17, 2018 by JMN

Charles gave me a copy of his “translation” of Arthur Rimbaud’s “Le bateau ivre” (The Drunken Boat). I put “translation” in quotes because Charles readily admits that his version derives from other English versions of the poem, since he doesn’t … Continue reading →

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“Displeasing little man”

Posted on July 17, 2018 by JMN

Soon Proust was disenchanted by his goddesses. As Weber notes, his “idealizing vision of his ladies changed over time into something darker.” To the Comtesse de Chevigné [Laure de Sade, great-granddaughter of the Marquis], he wrote, “What one used to … Continue reading →

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“She’s so competitive”

Posted on July 17, 2018 by JMN

“It’s funny when they talk about women, saying, ‘Oh, she’s so competitive,’ and it’s almost a put-down… For me, what’s the alternative? To try to lose, or to not give your best? ‘Competitive’ means you’re concentrating, and you do everything … Continue reading →

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Ambiguous Headline of the Day

Posted on July 17, 2018 by JMN

“Putin Is Running a Destructive Cybercrime Syndicate Out of Russia” (NYTimes). Hmmm… I run a raccoon out of my wood shop now and then. (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rabbits restrained.

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Non-natives 3, Natives 1

Posted on July 16, 2018 by JMN

“English is a global language with many native and nonnative varieties. Worldwide, nonnative speakers of English outnumber natives by a ratio of three to one. Even in the United States, which has the largest population of native English speakers, there … Continue reading →

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Anne Tyler on Reading

Posted on July 14, 2018 by JMN

You used to be reluctant to give interviews, but seem to have softened lately. Why? “I am still reluctant, to be honest, but the world has changed so much. I used to think it was my publisher’s job to get … Continue reading →

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