If being a spokesman for a generation is a fleeting occupation, being a symbol of an era is downright dangerous for anyone who has the bad luck to outlive it.
Jay McInerneyYour presence here is is only a matter of conducting an experiment in limits, reminding yourself of what you arenโt.
Jay McInerneyI realized that I might not ever make it as a writer, that it might be because I wasn't good enough, or that it might be because the odds were just too long.
Jay McInerneyHe insisted on a single trade secret: that you had to survive, find some quiet, and work hard every day.
Jay McInerneyThe only sensible approach is not to take it too seriously. What counts is the writing.
Jay McInerneyWhat I'm nostalgic for is the idea of an edge in New York. There used to be these fringes of the city where civilization sort of ended, and therefore young people could live cheaply, or open nightclubs or art galleries, or even squat. That fringe moved out to New Jersey and Brooklyn. The whole idea of the metropolis is the centralization of like-minded souls, and when the central real estate becomes too expensive, the dreamers, the young poets, and the artists will go elsewhere.
Jay McInerney