Dermot Healy quotes

There isn't any distinction between a reader and a writer - reading is so much a part of it. (Dermot Healy)
[Kafka] taught me a lot about the normal and the abnormal, and the distance between them. [...] He's out there by himself. You get the jump in the feet when you read certain passages by him. That's the mark of truly great writing. It gives you the jump in the feet. View quote
Dermot Healy
I'm always fascinated by etymology. View quote
Dermot Healy
I know writing is what I do but I still don't see myself as one. View quote
Dermot Healy
I write mostly in my office in the shed outside at home, but it can get very cold. I write best on the train, among people. As a writer you spend so much time away from people. View quote
Dermot Healy
I often find poems hand written in old abandoned notebooks. View quote
Dermot Healy
The Bible has entered much of my work as have Latin and Greek mythology and verse. View quote
Dermot Healy
I like the idea of stopping mid-sentence, like Graham Greene. View quote
Dermot Healy
I rang up this publisher and they asked me what I was doing at the time. I told them I was a house-painter, so first of all they had me come round and paint the place. Only later did they consider my work and Banished Misfortune was published. View quote
Dermot Healy
It is a costly thing living here to fight the erosion. The sea is constantly threatening to cut into the coastline and sweep all this away. Every year we have to haul stones up here to repair the damage and plug the holes. It's a full-time job. View quote
Dermot Healy
Without the reader there would be no writer. (Dermot Healy)
When I was 14 or 15, our teacher introduced us to Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities.' It was just for entertainment - we read it aloud - and all of a sudden it became a treasure. View quote
Dermot Healy
I'm no good at dinner parties. I feel very uneasy at them. View quote
Dermot Healy