Edward Abbey
Edward Abbey
Edward Paul Abbeywas an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction work Desert Solitaire...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth29 January 1927
CountryUnited States of America
dog tick critics
Critics are like ticks on a dog or tits on a motor: ornamental but dysfunctional.
fungi critics oaks
A critic is to an author as a fungus to an oak.
running book east
The response to my books from my East Coast friends has been wildly various, running the gamut from 'bad' to 'very bad.' (Is there another gamut?)
book reviews reviewers
It is always dishonest for a reviewer to review the author instead of the author's book.
kitchen add novel
The ideal kitchen-sink novel: Throw in everything but the kitchen sink. Then add the kitchen sink.
dog stories lines
My notion of a great novel is something like a five-hundred-page shaggy-dog story, with only the punch line omitted.
ideas needs defense
The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders. Remaining silent about the destruction of nature is an endorsement of that destruction.
real book writing
The author: an imaginary person who writes real books.
stars loneliness night
I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation.
lying heaven kingdoms
Music begins where words leave off. Music expresses the inexpressible. If there is a Kingdom of Heaven, it lies in music.
art perfect produce
How did Haydn and Mozart produce such vast quantities of formally perfect art? They worked from a perfect formula. In music, Beethoven was the Great Emancipator.
saving wilderness left
The only thing left worth saving is wilderness.
latin hate rhythm
If there's anything I hate, it's the vibraphone. And the cha-cha-cha. And Latin rhythms generally.
cutting singing said
As Mark Twain said, 'I love Wagner -- if only they'd cut out all that damned singing!'