Hone and spread your spirit till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff.
Annie DillardPeople who take photographs during their whole vacation won't remember their vacation. They'll only remember what photographs they took.
Annie DillardFor all the insularity of the old guard, Pittsburgh was always an open and democratic town.
Annie DillardThe written word is weak. Many people prefer life to it. Life gets your blood going, & it smells good. Writing is mere writing, literature is mere. It appeals only to the subtlest sensesโthe imaginationโs vision, & the imaginationโs hearingโ& the moral sense, & the intellect. This writing that you do, that so thrills you, that so rocks & exhilarates you, as if you were dancing next to the band, is barely audible to anyone else.
Annie Dillard