Ian Frazier Quotes
-
People in Russia adapt to misery by a deep, deep humor.
→ -
Leading economists have shown that by shrinking Texas, we can actually create more income for Texas in the long run.
→ -
I am an author, and like many in my profession, I am also a traveling salesman, going all over in an attempt to persuade people to spend twenty-five dollars on a hardcover book by me.
→ -
Sometimes travel is merely an opportunity taken when you can.
→ -
When the days start to get shorter, I want to be in some nice brick building on the East Coast with the lights glowing in the windows. When the daylight starts changing, I want to be out West.
→ -
I only saw one English-speaking person all the way across Siberia.
→ -
When I needed to think or was really upset, generally I climbed a tree.
→ -
Human connection is the way things work. It's like a patronage system. You know somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows the district governor, and it's okay.
→ -
Words are charms. It's like a song you didn't even know you knew.
→ -
I think what is important for things to be funny is if you the listener, or the reader, get a chance to supply the humor of it yourself.
→ -
Everything in Russia is made of cement - phone booths, fence posts and light bulbs.
→ -
Roy Blount is so funny, and he sounds like he's just talking, and the next thing you know he has tossed off an essay as elegant and intricately structured as a birdsong. His ear for American speech is better than anybody's.
→ -
Russian humor is to adapt or make some sense or nonsense out of the insanity of their lives.
→ -
Cursing dads are terrifying, you know? Cursing dads are - I don't know why, but no. It just doesn't seem to me that that would be funny. I mean it might be - you could try it and see. I suppose anybody just losing it and sputtering curses is pretty funny. But I think it would be more of a challenge, much more of a challenge, to make a cursing dad funny.
→ -
I don't want to collect Indian art, though pots and beadwork and blankets made by Indians remain the most beautiful art objects in the American West, in my opinion.
→ -
Every once in a while, people need to be in the presence of things that are really far away.
→ -
America can enjoy a vital, fully functioning government, with all the benefits provided by Texas, while reducing Texas at the same time.
→ -
Siberia is so big, it’s almost more an idea than a place
→ -
I don't want to participate in traditional Indian religious ceremonies - dance in a sun dance or pray in a sweat lodge or go on a vision quest with the help of a medicine man. The power of these ceremonies has an appeal, but I'm content with what little religion I already have.
→ -
Russians don't complain, usually.
→ -
There's an idea of the Plains as the middle of nowhere, something to be contemptuous of. But it's really a heroic place.
→ -
Despite the obvious benefits, many Americans do not like Texas. Some even say they despise Texas, and make no secret of their feelings.
→ -
I don't have a disregard for my reader in humor pieces.
→ -
A book tour is not a good opportunity to let your mind wander. You have to pay attention, remember salespeople's and interviewers' names, succinctly summarize your book in a 'selling' way, and so on.
→
Related Authors
-
James Thurber Cartoonist -
-
William Zinsser Writer -
John McPhee Writer -
Ira Glass Radio personality -
David Remnick Journalist -
Rosemary Mahoney Fiction writer -
Hendrik Hertzberg Journalist -
Crazy Horse Oglala Lakota leader -
Michael Specter Journalist -
Edward Hoagland Author -
Ring Lardner, Jr. Journalist -
Jamaica Kincaid Novelist -
Joan Acocella Journalist -
Susan Orlean Journalist -
Janet Malcolm Writer -
Joseph Mitchell Writer -
Andy Borowitz Writer -
Kelefa Sanneh Journalist -
Tim Cahill Soccer player