If anyone is curious, the first most quoted writer in the English language is reportedly Samuel Johnson.
3 weeks ago - 
8
8
Eupraxsophy
Secular humanist, freethinker, progressive, and bibliophile. I love living life, learning things, and meeting people.
Only 2% to 5% of all books published in the United States come from a non-English source. While some foreign authors publish their works in English, most of them don’t, which means we’re totally unexposed to the overwhelming majority of the world’s literature.
US publishers claim that translations would cost too much, and that Americans aren’t interested in foreign literature.
But this raises an issue of causality: is this lack of interest the reason why publishers don’t bother translating non-English material? Or is it the lack of such publishing that causes or facilitates of our disinterest?
I suspect it is a little bit of both. Furthermore, one could argue that this is a consequence of our cultural and political hegemony: American culture is ubiquitous across the world, while comparatively little of the world’s culture makes inroads here (at least not in the mainstream). Perhaps this is because our dominant position in the world (real or perceived) makes learning about other cultures seem redundant or unnecessary. Our geographic size and relative isolation also presumably breeds a sense of insularity.
Regardless, I find this very unfortunate — though all the more reason to learn a foreign language. The free exchange of ideas, insights, and concepts — many of which exist only certain cultures and languages — is vital to a free and prosperous society.
1 month ago - 5
5 Eavesdrop a lot and take notes. It’s a way to begin to think about how the world around you is made of stories.
Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket.
I agree. Great ideas are all around us, even in the most unexpected places. We have only to pay close attention to them.
A novel worth reading is an education of the heart. It enlarges your sense of human possibility, of what human nature is, of what happens in the world. It’s a creator of inwardness.
Susan Sontag (via aruariandance)
(Source: pavorst, via aruariandance)
Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.
Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You
And to think that there are several languages presumably even harder than English.
Anyone who speaks English quotes Shakespeare, oftentimes without knowing it. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t mean what a lot of people think it means. Here’s a small compilation of quoted and sometimes misquoted Shakespeare:
I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person.
Oscar Wilde (via xzxcuzx-me)
There is a difference between solitude and loneliness. The former, as I see it, is usually voluntary and thus healthier. There’s nothing wrong with being alone if it’s what you want. Time alone allows us to reflect, wonder, and define ourselves. It can get out of hand sometimes, but we need to pause from the hustle and bustle of life and just get to ourselves better on our own. We’ll always need others in some way or another. But we mustn’t depend on them to validate our existence.
(via nongfuspring)
Life is for the living.
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.
Langston Hughes, The Collected Poems
