Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr.was an American writer. His best-known novels are Last Exit to Brooklynand Requiem for a Dream, exploring worlds in the New York area. Both novels were adapted later as films, and he appeared in small roles in each...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth23 July 1928
CountryUnited States of America
Hubert Selby, Jr. quotes about
pain thinking here-i-am
I think the function of suffering is to let me know that my perception is skewed; what I’m doing is judging natural events in such a way that I am creating suffering within myself. For instance, you have pain over certain conditions, certain situations that occur. And if you just say ‘ok, here I am, I’m going to experience the pain,’ you don’t suffer. The resistance and the degree of the resistance to the natural phenomenon of life causes tremendous suffering.
mean artist giving
Being an artist doesn’t take much, just everything you got. Which means, of course, that as the process is giving you life, it is also bringing you closer to death. But it’s no big deal. They are one in the same and cannot be avoided or denied. So when I totally embrace this process, this life/death, and abandon myself to it, I transcend all this meaningless gibberish and hang out with the gods. It seems to me that that is worth the price of admission.
pain loneliness heart
There's a sorrow and pain in everyone's life, but every now and then there's a ray of light that melts the loneliness in your heart and brings comfort like hot soup and a soft bed.
pain laughing get-better
Sometimes it seems to stand still. Like you’re in a bag and you can’t get out and somebody’s always telling you that it will get better with time and time just seems to stand still and laugh at you and your pain.
dream integrity believe
Obviously, I believe that to pursue the American Dream is not only futile but self-destructive because ultimately it destroys everything and everyone involved with it. By definition it must, because it nurtures everything except those things that are important: integrity, ethics, truth, our very heart and soul. Why? The reason is simple: because Life/life is giving, not getting.
responsibility artist ego
The responsibility of the artist is to transcend the human ego.
writing years people
One of the things I have become aware of through the years is how much I love the people I write about.
requiem-for-a-dream knows
He didnt know what was defeating him, but he sensed it was something he could not cope with, something that was far beyond his power to control or even at this point in time comprehend.
laughter frustration laughing
All the energy of their frustration and fear going into their laughter.
dream opportunity passing
I suspect there will never be a requiem for a dream, simply because it will destroy us before we have the opportunity to mourn it's passing.
writing inspired process
My writing is inspired by just about everything, yet I am unaware of so much of the process.
dream memories voice
The voice so filled with nostalgia that you could almost see the memories floating through the blue smoke, memories not only of music and joy and youth, but perhaps, of dreams. They listened to the music, each hearing it in his own way, feeling relaxed and a part of the music, a part of each other, and almost a part of the world.
alphabet
I knew the alphabet. Maybe I could be a writer.
heart darkness vastness
An extraordinary writer....It is the vastness of Nick Tosches’ heart that makes it possible to reveal the darkness.