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John Steinbeck on Books

1902–1968 United States

← All quotes by John Steinbeck

7 quotes

He brought his malformed wisdom, his pool-hall, locker-room, joke-book wisdom to the front.

Burning Bright (1950)

The profession of book-writing makes horse-racing seem like a solid, stable business.

Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody — to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.

Of Mice and Men (1937)

A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers.

The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)

Boileau said that Kings, Gods and Heroes only were fit subjects for literature. The writer can only write about what he admires.

Radio interview (1939)

For the first time I am working on a book that is not limited and that will take every bit of experience and thought and feeling that I have.

Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of human need for it, and it has not changed except to become more needed.

Nobel Prize acceptance speech (1962)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John Steinbeck (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.