“Men are apt to idolize or fear that which they cannot understand, especially if it be a woman.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Her Lips Are Copper Wire”
whisper of yellow globes
gleaming on lamp posts that sway
like bootleg licker drinkers in the fog
and let your breath be moist against me
like bright beads on yellow globes
telephone the power-house
that the main wires are insulate
(her words play up and down
dewy corridors of billboards)
then with your tongue remove the tape
and press your lips to mine
till they are incandescent”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Call them from their houses, and teach them to dream.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“If you have heard a Jewish cantor sing, if he has touched you and made your own sorrow seem trivial when compared with his, you will know my feeling when I follow the curves of her profile, like mobile rivers, to their common delta.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“It takes a well-spent lifetime, and perhaps more, to crystalize in us that for which we exist.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Happy, Muriel? No, not happy. Your aim is wrong. There is no such thing as happiness. Life bends joy and pain, beauty and ugliness, in such a way that no one may isolate them. No one should want to. Perfect joy, or perfect pain, with no contrasting element to define them, would mean a monotony of consciousness, would mean death.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Whats beauty anyway but ugliness if it hurts you?”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“You are the most sleepiest man I ever seed.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Night winds in Georgia are vagrant poets, whispering.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Men had always wanted her, this Karintha, even as a child, Karintha carrying beauty, perfect as dusk when the sun goes down.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“But words is like th spots on dice: no matter how y fumbles em,
there's times when they jes wont
come.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“But words is like th spots on dice: no matter how y fumbles em, there's times when they jes wont come.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Her dress was of some fine, costly stuff. I suggested the park, and then added that the grass might stain her skirt. Let it get stained, she said, for where it came from there are others.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
“Men had always wanted her, this Karintha, even as a child, Karintha carrying beauty, perfect as dusk when the sun goes down.”
― Jean Toomer, quote from Cane
Jean Toomer
Born place: in Washington, D.C., The United States
Born date December 26, 1894
See more on GoodReads
“It's not good, is it?"
Galen's reply was convincingly nonchalant. "I've seen worse."
"Yes-on a dead man."
Galen averted his eyes for a moment before giving a reply. "Don't talk like that."
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize, either."
Steldor gave a wry laugh. "Would you mind telling me what I am allowed to do?"
Galen couldn't suppress a smirk, thought it was laced with sadness, as he recognized the beginning of one of their classic bickering contests.
"Sure-you can shut your trap."
Steldor was smirking, too, then he grimaced, arching his back as unexpected pain shot through him, and new drops of sweat materialized on his forehead.
"Steldor-" Galen started, humor lost, reaching toward him with undetermined intent. Steldor smacked his hand away with as much vigor as he could muster.
"No," he growled, gritting his teeth. "Ignore it.I don't want to think about it."
Galen nodded, thought he looked uneasy. "Just tell me what to do," he said in a small voice.
"Tell me to shut my trap again.”
― Cayla Kluver, quote from Allegiance
“In other words, there are times when telling an outright lie may be the most loving thing a person can do. So I smile. As if I’ve just realized for the first time, thanks to your insight, Dad, that my race today was fantastic. As if I am proud of my thirty-fourth-place”
― Josh Sundquist, quote from Just Don't Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made It Down the Mountain
“But, after all, too much knowledge, like ignorance, brings you to a negation.”
― Honoré de Balzac, quote from La Obra Maestra Desconocida
“Be happy, Caro, because that’s what you deserve.
I love you, I have always loved you, and where I go after this world, I will always love you.
Sempre e per sempre.”
― Jane Harvey-Berrick, quote from The Education of Caroline
“You believe that you live in the
universe when in reality the universe lives in you”
― Steve Chandler, quote from 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever
Never Knowing
Hitchcock
The Memory Artists
Dreadnought
How It EndsBookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.
