Kafka wrote the great line: "my education has damaged me in ways I do not even know." And that's always been a signature motto for me.
Lynne TillmanWhat I don't like about teaching is hearing myself say the same thing. I mean, you just want to sort of shoot yourself after a while. But you don't have a million different ways of thinking about what you have been thinking about for many years. And then there's the truism that you're only as good as your students. If they're not into what's going on, it doesn't matter who you are.
Lynne TillmanUlysses pissed me off. When Molly Bloom just says, "Yes I said yes I will Yes." And I'm thinking, You should be saying no, Molly. How about no? Saying no is great.
Lynne TillmanDo the obvious, you won't forget it. Do the obvious, you won't regret it. Obvious, obvious, obvious.
Lynne TillmanI think some people are not interesting to themselves. They're the sad, resigned folk. When people call themselves ordinary - "I'm just an ordinary person" - you do wonder what they mean, because people who call themselves ordinary occasionally turn out to be serial killers. Beware of those who say they're ordinary.
Lynne Tillman