Scottish Quotes

By the usual reckoning, the worst books make the best films.

As long as a film stays unmade, the book is entirely yours, it belongs to the writer. As soon as you make it into a film, suddenly more people see it than have ever read the book.

You have to have something worth saying and then the ability to say it- writing's a double skill, really.

As a writer, you get to play, you get alter time, you get to come up with the smart lines and the clever comebacks you wish you'd thought of.

Instinct is untaught ability.

Pampered vanity is a better thing perhaps than starved pride.

I wish I were with some of the wild people that run in the woods, and know nothing about accomplishments!

I have seen the day, when, if a man made himself ridiculous, the world would laugh at him. But now, everything that is mean, disgusting, and absurd, pleases them but so much the better!

A willing heart adds feather to the heel.

I will be a historical painter.

Father, in spite of all this spending of money in learning Latin, I will be a painter.

It's better to be hurt by the truth than to gain satisfaction from the lies.

Well I guess the plan was to write poetry and publish books and make a living from writing poetry. That was a pretty ambitious plan I guess.

Well - I started writing - probably in the early 60s and by say '65-'66 I had read most of the poetry that had been published - certainly in the 20 years prior to that.

There's one of my new poems actually - is a good example of where my poetry has ended up. My earlier river poetry was more like a cross between Shelley and Dylan Thomas.

I don't know if younger poets read a lot of, you know, the poets - the established poets. There was a lot of pretty boring stuff to sort of put up with and to add to, to make something vital from.

He was certainly in a confused state. I used to go and visit him in Callan Park. They were really - to me they were the best poets those two writing in those days but it wasn't very encouraging because, well, they weren't getting far were they?

Francis Webb is easily our greatest poet and one of the greatest poets in the world but he's hardly ever mentioned.

It's just that if you're not disruptive everything seems to be repeated endlessly - not so much the good things but the bland things - the ordinary things - the weaker things get repeated- the stronger things get suppressed and held down and hidden.

Life is settled and I'm enjoying it.