Gore Vidal Quotes about Past

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History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.

History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.

Gore Vidal

Past, Gossip, Might

"Gore Vidal, the Fantastic Man". "Butt", No. 20, April 7, 2007.

Writing of history is our only heuristic principle. The Germans have a word for it, einfühlen. It is the ability to experience the past in the present and to recreate it. In my books, I have tried to recreate it in the most natural way possible: History must be integrated into the story without the weight of premonition.

Gore Vidal

Book, Writing, Past

"The End of Gore Vidal". Interview with Lila Azam Zanganeh, www.guernicamag.com. August 15, 2012.

Everybody likes a bit of gossip to some point, as long as it's gossip with some point to it. That's why I like history. History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.

Gore Vidal

Past, Long, Gossip

FaceBook post by Gore Vidal from Jan 05, 2015

There was more of a flow to my output of writing in the past, certainly. Having no contemporaries left means you cannot say, "Well, so-and-so will like this," which you do when you're younger. You realize there is no so-and-so anymore. You are your own so-and-so. There is a bleak side to it.

Gore Vidal

Writing, Mean, Past

"Gore Vidal: What I've Learned". Interview with Mike Sager, www.esquire.com. August 1, 2012.