What Wallace Thinks Of It

Last night I was trying to find the attribution for a Wallace Stevens quote (“God is in me or else is not at all,” quoted in The Little Zen Companion) (oh yes, I succumbed to the mid-90’s trend for miniature inspirational books)(and just don’t ask why I was reading The Little Zen Companion again)–anyway, I looked up the attribution for that quote and found this quotes from his letters, as well.

They talk so beautifully about work and having a family and a home (and I do, too, sometimes) — but it’s all worry and head-aches and respectable poverty and forced gushing…. Telling people how nice it is, when, in reality, you would give all of your last thirty years for one of your first thirty. Old people are tremendous frauds.

So much for encouragement and inspiration! Where’s my mini book…

One thought on “What Wallace Thinks Of It

  1. Pshhhh. Old people are great. And of course they want to go back in time for one of their first thirty years. Who doesn’t want to go back and live their younger years that nostalgia has colored so well? Mr. Wallace Stevens is just being pissy towards some specific old person because they wouldn’t let him borrow the buick that one time or something.

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