WIST Quotations

Kafka, Franz -- Letter (1922-07-05) to Max Brod

Dave — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:31:42 +0000

Writing sustains me. But wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that it sustains this kind of life? Which does not, of course, mean that my life is any better when I don’t write. On the contrary, at such times it is far worse, wholly unbearable, and inevitably ends in madness. This, of course only on the assumption that I am a writer even when I don’t write — which is indeed the case; and a non-writing writer is, in fact, a monster courting insanity.

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) Czech-Austrian Jewish writer
Letter (1922-07-05) to Max Brod
(Source)

McLaughlin, Mignon -- The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 8 (1963)

Dave — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 16:03:50 +0000

Despair is anger with no place to go.

Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983) American journalist and author
The Neurotic’s Notebook, ch. 8 (1963)
(Source)

Brewster, Kingman -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 03:44:30 +0000

There is no lasting hope in violence, only temporary relief from hopelessness.

Kingman Brewster, Jr. (1919–1988) American educator, diplomat
(Attributed)