"I guess I wanted to leave America for awhile. It wasn't that I wanted to become an expatriate, or just never come back, I needed some breathing room. I'd already been translating French poetry, I'd been to Paris once before and liked it very much, and so I just went."

Art

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on art by Paul Auster resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in art is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Paul Auster

Paul Benjamin Auster was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include The New York Trilogy (1987), Moon Palace (1989), The Music of Chance (1990), True Tales of American Life (2001), The Book of Illusions (2002), The Brooklyn Follies (2005), Invisible (2009), Sunset Park (2010), Winter Journal (2012), 4 3 2 1 (2017), and Bloodbath Nation (2023). His books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

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"It is a humble truth that rise early, act with intent, and let your accomplishments speak with silent authority."

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"Habitual texters may not only cheat their existing relationships, they can also limit their ability to form future ones since they don't get to practice the art of interpreting nonverbal visual cues."

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"Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a monstrosity, something outside of nature."

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