Harlan Ellison Quotes
1934–2018 United States
Harlan Jay Ellison (27 May 1934 – 28 June 2018) was an American author (mostly of speculative fiction) and media critic.
- United States
- Critics
- Editors
- Essayists
- Novelists
Also known as: Ellison, Harlan, Harlan J Ellison, Harlan J. Ellison, Harlan Jay Ellison, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
Random Harlan Ellison quote
70 quotes
These are the sounds in the night: First, the sound of darkness, lapping at the edges of a sea of movement, itself called silence. Then, second, the fingertip-sensed sound of the cyclical movement of the universe as it gnaws its way through the dust-film called Time. And last, the animal sounds of two people making love. The moist sounds of two bodies in concert.
Deathbird Stories (1975)
I see myself as a combination of Zorro and Jiminy Cricket. My stories go out from here and raise hell. From time to time some denigrator or critic with umbrage will say of my work, "He only wrote that to shock." I smile and nod. Precisely.
There he was, a very definitely imposing personality. In certain circles … it was thought disgusting. Vulgar ostentation. Anarchistic. Shameful.
I no longer indulge in those time-wasting amateurisms called “fanning”; I decided if I was going to be a writer, I had to go ahead and ignore all the silverfish in the paperwork. And that meant no more fan magazine writing, no more convention attending, no more getting caught up in the moronic time-cannibalizing feuds many fans need to sustain their mingy little lives.
Over the Edge (1970)
Writing is the hardest work in the world. I have been a bricklayer and a truck driver, and I tell you – as if you haven't been told a million times ALREADY – that writing is harder. Lonelier. And nobler and more enriching.
The producer who is the sole concern is “product” is doomed merely to make money.
Pause, while the fat-cats chuckle on their way to the bank. Yeah, we know that bit. Nice talking to you, fellas. Move on, so we can get back to the business of creating, as opposed to producing.
Over the Edge (1970)
This was reality, an only reality for a man whose existence had been not quite bad, merely insufficient, tenable but hardly enriching. For a man who had lived a life of not quite enough, this was all there ever could be of goodness and brilliance and light.
Delusion for a Dragon Slayer (1966)
By the way if I miss, during the evening, saying something offensive to you, insulting your sexual proclivity, your physical disability, your race, your religion, your sex, anything, please, raise your hand. I’ll get to you, I promise. I’ll say something really nasty.
Autograph profile (2010)
Gods can do anything. They fear nothing: they are gods. But there is one rule, one Seal of Solomon that can confound a god, and to which all gods pay service, to the letter:
When belief in a god dies, the god dies.
When the last acolyte renounces his faith and turns to another deity, the god ceases to be.
Deathbird Stories (1975)
If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you really make them think, they'll hate you.
Misattributed