Quotes by Anthony Burgess

About Anthony Burgess:

John Anthony Burgess Wilson was an English writer and composer. From relatively modest beginnings in a Catholic family in Manchester, he eventually became one of the best known English literary figures of the latter half of the twentieth century.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

As for the new world war that's waiting in the womb of time, a healthily developed foetus, who can say what will spark it, how destructive it will be? We've already played at this war in film and fiction, indicating that there's a part of us that des...

Anthony Burgess

At the age of fifteen he had bought off a twopenny stall in the market a duo-decimo book of recipes, gossip, and homilies, printed in 1605. His stepmother, able to read figures, had screamed at the sight of it when he had proudly brought it home. 160...

Anthony Burgess

Literature is the aesthetic exploitation of language

Anthony Burgess

We only need to wear shoes because the British built roads which hurt our feet.

Anthony Burgess

You're a romantic,” said Crabbe. “You expect too much. Reality's always dull, you know, but when we see that it's all there is, well-it miraculously ceases to be dull.

Anthony Burgess

When we pray we admit defeat.

Anthony Burgess

Life's only choosing when to die. Life's a big postponement because the choice is so difficult. It's a tremendous relief not to have to choose.

Anthony Burgess

We're a government that believes in everybody having the illusion of free will.

Anthony Burgess

I didn't think; I experimented.

Anthony Burgess

The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.

Anthony Burgess

It's always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you're going.

Anthony Burgess

Every dogma has its day.

Anthony Burgess

Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.

Anthony Burgess

We all need money, but there are degrees of desperation.

Anthony Burgess

Americans will listen, but they do not care to read. War and Peace must wait for the leisure of retirement, which never really comes: meanwhile it helps to furnish the living room.

Anthony Burgess

Women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets.

Anthony Burgess

The possession of a book becomes a substitute for reading it.

Anthony Burgess

Books in a large university library system: 2,000,000. Books in an average large city library: 10,000. Average number of books in a chain bookstore: 30,000. Books in an average neighborhood branch library: 20,000.

Anthony Burgess

Readers are plentiful: thinkers are rare.

Anthony Burgess

The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent, experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

Anthony Burgess

Author Bio

  • NameAnthony Burgess
  • DescriptionEnglish writer
  • AliasesJohn Anthony Burgess Wilson
  • BornFebruary 25, 1917
  • DiedNovember 22, 1993
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionWriter; Journalist; Translator; Screenwriter; Poet; Composer; Novelist
  • AwardsPrometheus Award - Hall Of Fame