Tag: quotes

For this week’s segment of Writer’s Quote Wednesday, as hosted by the lovely Colleen of Silver Threading, I take inspiration from Aldous Huxley:

“Every man’s memory is his private literature.” ~Aldous Huxley

The influence of memory in our lives is thought-provoking. Even if it’s just the name of a character or birthplace, memory plays a part in what we write and often even how we write, which is what makes this quote so interesting. A lot of the stories in my books, for instance, take place in Chicago because I know Chicago. This is where I am from, where I was raised, and it is the city that I know. I do not have to make up the names of streets and towns and shops because I know them. I’ve been to Ford City, shopped at the Food & Liquor on 63rd and Western (it’s closed now), and lived on 47th Street. I’ve rode the Red Line through the loop, touched the people, smelled the food and heard the voices. As long as I have memory of Chicago, I’ll always have some story to tell.

About the Author:

What I enjoy about this weekly prompt, in addition to the inspiring voices of authors who compel us to keep writing, is the search and discovery of new authors to explore. Sometimes it’s best to understand more about the quotes you use. I discovered for instance, that Aldous grandfather, Thomas Henry Huxley, was known as a controversial naturalist in his time, nicknamed as “Darwin’s Bulldog”, which made me think twice about whether or not to use this quote since I don’t believe in anything with the words Darwin in the same sentence. But anyway, I decided to play nice though and let Aldous hang around a bit longer, so here’s his background according to The European Graduate School website:

“Aldous Huxley, was a British writer. He was born on July 26, 1894 and died on November 22, 1963. He would become most specifically known to the public for his novels, and especially his fifth one, Brave New World, written in 1931 and published in 1932.

Aldous Huxley would come to be known mostly as a novelist and essayist but he would also write some short stories, poetry, travelogues and even film scripts. In his novels and essays Aldous Huxley would always play the role of a critical observer of accepted traditions, customs, social norms and ideals. Importantly, he would be concerned in his writings with the potentially harmful applications of so-called scientific progress to mankind” 

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That’s it for this week’s segment. Be sure to check out the other #WQW posts from other  bloggers this week. Just look for “Writer’s Quote Wednesday” in your readers :).

http://silverthreading.com/2015/08/12/writers-quote-wednesday-roald-dahl/