Americans are genuinely and profoundly anti-intellectual. They are especially so in their pleasure-seeking, which is epically banal.
Jesse BallIf he acts, if he doesn't, it's meaningless. The whole thing goes forward. No one is important. No one at all.
Jesse BallIf Americans are to read something that is difficult, they will only do so supposing they will be admired for having done it.
Jesse BallI begin with an image of some sort, just as if you saw something out of a window, and then went to the window to see what it was.
Jesse BallFirst, he says, you have to go out into the world. This is not a simple matter of going outside one's door. No, that is simply going out. That's what one does when one is on the way to the store to buy a loaf of bread, some cheese, and a bottle of wine. When one goes out into the world, one is shedding preconceptions of past paths and ideas of past paths, and trying to move freely through an unsubstantiated and new geography.
Jesse Ball