November Focus:

Quotable Notables

It is in this holiday month that we give thanks for many things, so we may as well include the many bookish wits born in November who possess the gift of gab and literary grab, whether poetic in form or of the bon mot brand.

“A man said to the universe: "Sir, I exist!" "However," replied the universe, "The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.”
--Stephen Crane (born Nov. 1, 1871)

“I feel like I've never had a home, you know? I feel related to the country, to this country, and yet I don't know exactly where I fit in... There's always this kind of nostalgia for a place, a place where you can reckon with yourself.”
--Sam Shepard (Nov. 5, 1943)

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
--Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913)

“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”
--Kurt Vonnegut (Nov. 11, 1922)

Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.
--Robert Lewis Stevenson (Nov. 13, 1850)

“As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities.”
--Voltaire (Nov. 21, 1694)

“Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.”
--William Blake (Nov. 28, 1757)

“Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, deserves better of mankind, and does more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together.”
--Jonathan Swift (Nov. 30, 1667)

Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. 
--Mark Twain (Nov. 30, 1835) (GH)