John Knowles was an American novelist and author, best known for his coming-of-age novel "A Separate Peace." He was born in 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia, and grew up in a family that valued education and literature. Knowles attended Phillips Exeter Academy, a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire, and later attended Yale University.
Throughout his career, Knowles was known for his thought-provoking quotes and insights on a variety of subjects, including youth, friendship, and human nature. Here are a few notable quotes from John Knowles:
- "There is a time for departure even when there's no certain place to go."
This quote speaks to the idea that sometimes we must take a risk and step out of our comfort zone, even when we don't know exactly where we are going or what the future holds. It suggests that sometimes, the journey itself can be more important than the destination.
- "We are all lonely for something we don't know we're lonely for. How else to explain the curious feeling that goes around feeling like missing somebody we've never even met?"
This quote speaks to the human desire for connection and belonging, and how even when we think we have everything we need, we may still feel a sense of loneliness or longing for something more. It suggests that this feeling may be a result of a deeper, unconscious desire for something we don't fully understand.
- "I think that we are constantly searching for a sort of halcyon place where everything is peaceful and everything is clear and the air is fresher and the sunlight is brighter and the grass is greener and the water is purer, and if we ever found it, we would be terribly unhappy because we would have nothing to search for anymore."
This quote speaks to the idea that we are often searching for a perfect place or situation, but that once we find it, we may realize that the search itself was what gave our lives meaning and purpose. It suggests that the pursuit of happiness may be more important than actually achieving it.
- "It is possible, in the world as it is, to be surround by beauty--and yet to feel ugly, to be surrounded by love--and yet to feel alone."
This quote speaks to the idea that external circumstances or surroundings do not always dictate our internal feelings or emotional states. It suggests that even when we are surrounded by beauty and love, we may still feel a sense of disconnection or isolation.
In conclusion, John Knowles was a talented and insightful writer who had much to say about the human experience. His quotes speak to the complexity of the human condition and the many facets of the human experience, from loneliness and longing to the pursuit of happiness and the importance of the journey.
John Knowles (20+ Sourced Quotes)
The marble must be unusually hard. Not rely on absolutely, that was obliterated as a possibility, just rely on a little,some solace, something surviving in the ruin. And when you're in a war you've got to be in a hurry. That seemed very likely, only too likely, although with all my thought about these stairs this exceptional hardness had not occurred to me. Not of the tree and pain, but of one of his favorite tricks, Phineas in exaltation, balancing on one foot on the prow of a canoe like a river god, his raised arms invoking the air to support him, face transfigured, body a complex set of balances and compensations, each muscle aligned in perfection with all the others to maintain this supreme fantasy of achievement, his skin glowing from immersions, his whole body hanging between river and sky as though he had transcended gravity and might by gently pushing upward with his foot glide a little way higher and remain suspended in space, encompassing all the glory of the summer and offering it to the sky. They were preparing it, if you see what I mean, for the future. It was hard to remember in the heavy and sensual clarity of these mornings; I forgot whom I hated and who hated me.
The 20 Best John Knowles Quotes
The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever. So I guess maybe racing skiers weren't ruining the sport after all. Everything has to evolve or else it perishes. I was thankful, very thankful that I had seen it.
John Knowles Quotes about War
People will get their respect for you from that-partly from that, don't get me wrong-but if you can say that you were up front where there was some real shooting going on, then that will mean a whole lot to you in years to come. Everywhere there was the smell of vitality in clothes, the vital something in wool and flannel and corduroy which spring releases. He befriended the noted playwright Thornton Wilder, a fellow Yale alumnus, who encouraged him in his vocation as a writer. We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction. John Knowles was born in 1926 in Fairmont, West Virginia.
Best John Knowles Quotes
Knowles published eight other novels, including Peace Breaks Out, the companion volume to A Separate Peace, and a number of stories. It's all right to miss seeing the trees and the countryside and all the other things when you've got to be in a hurry. I had forgotten that this existed, this smell which instead of the first robin, or the first bud or leaf, means to me that spring has come. The novel won the William Faulkner Foundation Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Everything has to evolve or else it perishes. I noticed that he did abide by certain rules, which he seemed to cast in the form of Commandments.
