Essays Quotes

“As far as my connection to other people went, I was usually affectionate. I was usually fond of the people I met: the privileged. And I’m still fond of them. I know them well. It’s easy for me to see them not as others might see them, as a group of people who fundamentally are all the same, because as holders of privilege the all play fundamentally the same social role, but as they see themselves: as remarkably distinct individuals with different opinions, thoughts, and characteristics. I know very well that they suffer, I know that they’re lonely, they’re lost, they’re desperate, whatever.”
― Wallace Shawn, Essays

“To be absolutely frank, the words "the United States" are not interesting to me, and I would much rather think about something else and talk about something else. Life is shockingly short even for those lucky enough to live to be a hundred, and I'd rather fill my brain with, for example, the gorgeous songs called "Book of the Hanging Gardens" by Arnold Schoenberg than with thoughts about men in Washington, D.C., who have a sick need to set fire to cities, wear enormous crowns, and march across crowds of prostrate people.”
― Wallace Shawn, Essays

“So when people said that the music or the book or the film was "good" or "bad," I usually felt that I just didn't know what they were talking about.”
― Wallace Shawn, Essays