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Robertson Davies Quotes about Writing

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To ask an author who hopes to be a serious writer if his work is autobiographical is like asking a spider where he buys his thread. The spider gets his thread right out of his own guts, and that is where the author gets

To ask an author who hopes to be a serious writer if his work is autobiographical is like asking a spider where he buys his thread. The spider gets his thread right out of his own guts, and that is where the author gets his writing.

Robertson Davies
Writing, Spiders, Asking
Robertson Davies (1997). “The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading, Writing, and the World of Books”, Viking Press

There is absolutely no point in sitting down to write a book unless you feel that you must write that book, or else go mad, or die.

Robertson Davies
Book, Writing, Mad
"That difficult first novel" by Kate Kellaway, www.theguardian.com. March 24, 2007.

Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks and the cursing are palpable, and this appeals to those who rank "sincerity" very high. Nabokov is more like a master swordsmith making a fine blade; nothing is amiss, nothing is too much, there is no fuss, and the finished product must be handled with great care, or it will cut you badly.

Robertson Davies
Writing, Cutting, Care
Review of Nabokov's Lolita, 1958.

That is the operatic problem; the singer must keep up a big head of steam while trying to appear secretive, or seductive, or consumptive. Some ingenious composer should write an opera about a group of people who were condemned by a cruel god to scream all the time; it would be an instantaneous success, and a triumph of versimilitude.

Robertson Davies
Writing, People, Seductive
Robertson Davies (1986). “The papers of Samuel Marchbanks”, Viking, 1986

Great drama, drama that may reach the alchemical level, must have dimension and its relevance will take care of itself. Writing about AIDS rather than the cocktail set, or possibly the fairy kingdom, will not guarantee importance. . . . The old comment that all periods of time are at an equal distance from eternity says much, and pondering on it will lead to alchemical theatre while relevance becomes old hat.

Robertson Davies
Distance, Drama, Writing
Robertson Davies (1999). “Happy Alchemy: On the Pleasures of Music and the Theatre”, Penguin Group USA

I think of the author as somebody who goes into the marketplace and puts down his rug and says, 'I will tell you a story' and then he passes the hat.

Robertson Davies
Writing, Thinking, Stories
"Conversations with Robertson Davies".

May I make a suggestion, hoping it is not an impertinence? Write it down: write down what you feel. It is sometimes a wonderful help in misery.

Robertson Davies
Sad, Depression, Writing
Robertson Davies (1999). “"For Your Eye Alone": Letters 1976-1995”, McClelland & Stewart

To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of a dope fiend with those of a miser.

Robertson Davies
Book, Writing, Dope
Robertson Davies (1949). “The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks”, Clarke, Irwin

The most original thing a writer can do is write like himself. It is also his most difficult task.

Robertson Davies
Writing, Tasks, Difficult

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