Quotes by David Markson

About David Markson:

David Merrill Markson was an American novelist. He was the author of several postmodern novels, including Springer's Progress, Wittgenstein's Mistress, and Reader's Block. His final book, The Last Novel, published in 2007, was called "a real tour de force" by The New York Times.
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

I like Mr. Dickens’ books much better than yours, Papa. Said one of Thackeray’s daughters.

David Markson

A simple creature unlettyrde. Julian of Norwich called herself. The most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress. Echoed Jane Austen—four hundred years afterward.

David Markson

Have I ever said that Turner once actually had himself lashed to the mast of a ship, to be able to later do a painting of a storm? Which has never failed to remind me of the scene in which Odysseus does the identical thing, of course, so that he can ...

David Markson

Once, I had a dream of fame. Generally, even then, I was lonely.

David Markson

Once, Turner had himself lashed to the mast of a ship for several hours, during a furious storm, so that he could later paint the storm. Obviously, it was not the storm itself that Turner intended to paint. What he intended to paint was a representat...

David Markson

Was it really some other person I was so anxious to discover...or was it only my own solitude that I could not abide?

David Markson

Once, somebody asked Robert Schumann to explain the meaning of a certain piece of music he had just played on the piano. What Robert Schumann did was sit back down at the piano and play the piece of music again.

David Markson

Still, how I nearly felt. In the midst of all that looking.

David Markson

You can learn more by going to the opera than you ever can by reading Emerson. Like that there are two sexes.

David Markson

I still notice the burned house, mornings, when I walk along the beach. "Well, obviously I do not notice the house. What I notice is what remains of the house. One is still prone to think of a house as a house, however, even if there is not remarkabl...

David Markson

Author Bio

  • NameDavid Markson
  • DescriptionAmerican writer
  • BornDecember 20, 1927
  • DiedJune 4, 2010
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionAuthor; Novelist
  • WorksWittgenstein's Mistress