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The arrogance of the artist is a very profound thing, and it fortifies you.

James A. Michener

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James A. Michener
Age: 90 †
Born: 1907
Born: February 3
Died: 1997
Died: October 16
Author
Autobiographer
Military Officer
Novelist
Screenwriter
Writer
New York City
New York
James Albert Michener
James Michener
Fortifies
Arrogance
Profound
Artist
Thing

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The job of a storyteller is to tell stories, and I have concentrated on that obligation.
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The chief character in this narrative is the Caribbean Sea, one of the world's most alluring bodies of water, a rare gem among the oceans, defined by the islands that form a chain of lovely jewels to the north and east
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I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters.
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It is difficult to be king when the gods are changing.
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Religious hatreds ought not to be propagated at all, but certainly not on a tax-exempt basis.
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You don't fight to protect warships or old men. Like the book says, you fight to save your civilization. And so often it seems that civilization is composed mainly of the things women and children want.
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The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.
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I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation.
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If a man happens to find himself, he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.
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I've spent my life trying to be better than I was, and I am a brother to all who share the same aspiration.
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When this is over, I'm not going to be the same guy. I am going to live as if I were a great man.
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I think the bottom line is that if you get through a childhood like mine, it's not at all bad. Obviously, you come out a pretty tough turkey, and you have had all the inoculations you need to keep you on a level keel for the rest of your life. The sad part is, most of us don't come out.
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The decent thing to do is to get rid of some of this money.
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No invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, the private passion of families and the ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.
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No man leaves where he is and seeks a distant place unless he is in some respect a failure.
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If your book doesn't keep you up nights when you are writing it, it won't keep anyone up nights reading it.
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During my lifetime I have met dozens of writers and photographers in dozens of different countries. But I have encountered no one who could both write and photograph with the artistry of Robert Vavra.
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The extreme geniality of San Francisco's economic, intellectual and political climate makes it the most varied and challenging city in the United States.
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Rampaging horsemen can conquer only the city can civilize.
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If I were a young man, I would not hesitate at writing anything to get into print, except pornography.
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