Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking. Jessamyn West on alone
There are two barriers that often prevent communication between the young and their elders. The first is middle-aged forgetfulness of the fact that they themselves are no longer young. The second is youthful ignorance of the fact that the middle aged are still alive. Jessamyn West on communication
Faithfulness to the past can be a kind of death above ground. Writing of the past is a resurrection the past then lives in your words and you are free. Jessamyn West on death
It is very east to forgive others their mistakes it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own. Jessamyn West on forgiveness
The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future. Jessamyn West on future
The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future. Jessamyn West on history
A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself. Jessamyn West on humor
Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. Jessamyn West on imagination
The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future. Jessamyn West on imagination
Teaching is the royal road to learning. Jessamyn West on learning
Writing is a solitary occupation. Family, friends, and society are the natural enemies of the writer. He must be alone, uninterrupted, and slightly savage if he is to sustain and complete an undertaking. Jessamyn West on society
In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want her? Jessamyn West on success