The Art of Tetman Callis

“A novel insistently demands the presence and passion of human beings, who cannot ever be labeled. Without this passion we may all smother to death, locked in those airless, labeled cells, which isolate us from each other and separate us from ourselves.” – James Baldwin, “Preservation of Innocence”

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“In good fiction, as in real life, there tend not to be sentimental heroes and cruel villains but only deeply compromised human beings who struggle with their sins and shortcomings as best they can.” – Nathaniel Rich, “James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation”

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“Race was—is—the fundamental American issue, underlying not only all matters of public policy (economic inequality, criminal justice, housing, education) but the very psyche of the nation.” – Nathaniel Rich, “James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation”

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“Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an immutable law.” – James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son”

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“Police killings of unarmed black children, indifference to providing clean drinking water to a majority-black city, or efforts to curtail the voting rights of minority citizens are not freak incidents but outbreaks of a chronic national disease.” – Nathaniel Rich, “James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation”

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“A real writer is always shifting and changing and searching.” – James Baldwin (quoted by Nathaniel Rich in “James Baldwin & the Fear of a Nation”)

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“Refugee camps provide food and shelter, but they do not provide political voice and agency for their populations. Global institutions do not have the power to include stateless people in political membership. This is the danger of cosmopolitan institutions—that everyone becomes a mere human body to be managed in a camp.” – Thomas Nail, “Migrant […]

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“If it were in my power to change the mercantile laws of literary society, I could easily spin out my existence writing and rewriting the same story in the hope that I might end up understanding it and making it clear to others.” – Ignazio Silone (quoted by Dorothy Day in The Catholic Worker, January […]

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“If we value democracy, if we want to live in a world marked by a vibrant public sphere that can generate the possibilities of hope and human betterment, then we need futures. Without futures, and without serious propositional clashes between different materialized futures, we have no politics, and we have no democracy. We merely have […]

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“Forget about the level of training, the implementation of draconian punitive measures or the socialization of troops – during any engagement both sides are naturally leaning towards retreat. The side whose soldiers are able to suppress that instinctive response longer is usually victorious.” – Łukasz Różycki, “Fear – Elements of Slavic ‘Psychological Warfare’ in the […]

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“No identifiable form of intelligence, talent, genius, or even experience seems necessary for ruling a country. Would-be rulers do not have to pass qualifying examinations in leadership or demonstrate competence in administration or show skill in diplomacy. They do not need to have good communication skills or even be popular with their subjects. While many […]

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“Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I […]

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“The industrial world destroys nature not because it doesn’t love it but because it is not afraid of it.” – Mary Ruefle, “On Fear”

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“Seduction is the new opium of the masses. It is liberty for a world without liberty, joy for a world without joy.” – Tiqqun, Preliminary Materials for a Theory of the Young-Girl (trans. Reines)

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“Ethical people are ethical at the core. That identifies who they are. Ethics cannot be engaged and disengaged at will.” – William C. Stewart, Jr., Subrogation Recovery: Principles and Practices

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“Great pressure is brought to bear to make us undervalue ourselves. On the other hand, civilization teaches that each of us is an inestimable prize. There are, then, these two preparations: one for life and the other for death. Therefore we value and are ashamed to value ourselves, are hard-boiled. We are schooled in quietness […]

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“Supply is supply, and demand is demand. They will be satisfied, be it with combs, fifes, rubber, whisky, tainted meat, canned peas, sex, or tobacco. For every need there is an entrepreneur, by a marvelous providence. You can find a man to bury your dog, rub your back, teach you Swahili, read your horoscope, murder […]

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“I started back, choosing unfamiliar streets. They turned out to be no different from the ones I knew.” – Saul Bellow, Dangling Man

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“Trouble, like physical pain, makes us actively aware that we are living, and when there is little in the life we lead to hold and draw and stir us, we seek and cherish it.” – Saul Bellow, Dangling Man

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“The worlds we sought were never those we saw; the worlds we bargained for were never the worlds we got.” – Saul Bellow, Dangling Man

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“All comfort in life is based upon a regular occurrence of external phenomena. The changes of the day and night, of the seasons, of flowers and fruits, and all other recurring pleasures that come to us, that we may and should enjoy them—these are the mainsprings of our earthly life. The more open we are […]

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“The best of us will try to live by a few simple rules: do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with thy God, and never draw to an inside straight.” – Stephen Jay Gould, “The Streak of Streaks”

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“It is a well known fact that, in spite of the attenuation of electromagnetic radiation produced by sea water, photosynthetic organisms thrive in the underwater ecosystem. But it is rather surprising that bacterial photosynthesis has been observed to take place deep within the Pacific Ocean, at depths in excess of 2,000 meters. This biological process […]

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“A state such as ∣ψ) is often referred as a qubit and corresponds to a unit of quantum information (in contrast to the bit, which is the unit of classical information). Clearly, bits and qubits are radically different. Bits can assume the value of 0 or 1, but once fixed, its value is unique, deterministic, […]

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“Take care not to alienate the heart by wrongs; To win it back, when it has shied away, is hard. When love is lost, this heart becomes A broken glass that cannot be repaired.” – The Arabian Nights (trans. Lyons, et al.)

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“The world is all swagger and deceit.” – The Arabian Nights (trans. Lyons, et al.)

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“Whoever thinks that all women are alike is suffering from a disease of madness for which there is no cure.” – The Arabian Nights (trans. Lyons, et al.)

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“It takes patience to associate with women and whoever loves them needs to be magnanimous. They are always picking quarrels with men and annoying them, as they are proud of being the fair sex, boasting of their own superiority and despising men. This is particularly true when they see that their husbands love them, and […]

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“When you read what fate inscribes On Time’s forehead, you would shed tears of blood. If Time’s right hand preserves a man from harm, Its left will pour him out a cup of doom.” – The Arabian Nights (trans. Lyons, et al.)

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“When glory and good luck befriend a man, Disasters and misfortunes keep away. Friends come as uninvited parasites, And even supposed guardians act as pimps. He farts and people take it as a song, While any smell he makes is sweet perfume.” – The Arabian Nights (trans. Lyons, et al.)

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