Thomas Bernhard Quotes about Writing

The only friends I have are the dead who have bequeathed their writings to me — I have no others.

Writing

"Concrete".

We must allow ourselves to think, we must dare to think, even though we fail. It is in the nature of things that we always fail, because we suddenly find it impossible to order our thoughts, because the process of thinking requires us to consider every thought there is, every possible thought. Fundamentally we have always failed, like all the others, whoever they were, even the greatest minds. At some point, they suddenly failed and their system collapsed, as is proved by their writings, which we admire because they venture farthest into failure. To think is to fail, I thought.

Thomas Bernhard

Writing, Thinking, Order

Thomas Bernhard (2013). “Extinction: A Novel”, p.187, Vintage

Very often we write down a sentence too early, then another too late; what we have to do is write it down at the proper time, otherwise it's lost.

Thomas Bernhard

Inspirational, Writing, Too Late

Thomas Bernhard (2013). “Concrete”, p.81, Faber & Faber

I really only write about inner landscapes and most people don't see them, because they see practically nothing within, because they think that because it's inside, it's dark, and so they don't see anything. I don't think I've ever yet, in any of my books, described a landscape. There's really nothing of the kind in any of them. I only ever write concepts. And so I'm always referring to "mountains" or "a city" or "streets." But as to how they look: I've never produced a description of a landscape. That's never even interested me.

Thomas Bernhard

Book, Writing, Dark

Thomas Bernhard Quotes about Writing

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