Benjamin Alire Sáenz Quotes
Benjamin Alire Sáenz is an American poet, novelist, and children’s book author who has penned several award-winning books, including the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Sáenz’s writing often deals with the realities and complexities of growing up Latino in the United States. His work has been praised for its lyrical beauty, insight, and compassion. Here are some of the best quotes from Benjamin Alire Sáenz that will be sure to resonate with you.
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I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.
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Mostly, I think people are fake. Well, what do you expect? The fake world we live in conspires to make us all fakes.
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I wondered about the science of storms and how sometimes it seemed that a storm wanted to break the world and how the world refused to break.
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But love was always something heavy for me. Something I had to carry.
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If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.
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Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we read poetry? Why do we cry when we see a painting? Why is there a riot in the heart when we love? Why do we feel shame? What is that thing in the pit of your stomach called desire?
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Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.
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I do that with all of my characters. They have one of the flaws I have, and I zero in on that flaw.
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If you want to be a writer, you don’t want to live in a comfortable place.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
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I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn’t get–and never would get.
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We have this huge discourse on family in this country, but no one deconstructs it the same way. People talk about “the American family.” The right wing has this thing – Focus on the Family. What the hell is that? I don’t want to just discuss the issues – I want family to be a real part of the character of the novels I write, and I don’t like to write things that feel like issue books.
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The summer sun was not meant for boys like me. Boys like me belonged to the rain.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
I wondered what that was like, to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
Mostly, I think people are fake. Well, what do you expect? The fake world we live in conspires to make us all fakes.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
I wondered about the science of storms and how sometimes it seemed that a storm wanted to break the world and how the world refused to break.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
But love was always something heavy for me. Something I had to carry.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
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I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn’t get–and never would get.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
We have this huge discourse on family in this country, but no one deconstructs it the same way. People talk about “the American family.” The right wing has this thing – Focus on the Family. What the hell is that? I don’t want to just discuss the issues – I want family to be a real part of the character of the novels I write, and I don’t like to write things that feel like issue books.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
The summer sun was not meant for boys like me. Boys like me belonged to the rain.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz -
Absent parents aren’t abusive per se. They’re neglectful. They love in a very imperfect way. There are parents like that, and they do love their daughters and sons, but they’re not parents in the way that we might think of it.
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I wondered if my smile was as big as hers. Maybe as big. But not as beautiful.
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I think writing books is a way for me to work out certain issues. I write about what matters to me, always.
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For a moment, I thought of the word happy and it was a word that just, well, it felt like it was visiting me. I knew it wouldn’t last for very long and I’d be sad again and then it would be worse because it’s one thing to be sad and it’s another thing to be sad once you’ve been happy. Being sad after you’ve been happy is the worst thing in the world.
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The heart can get really cold if all you’ve known is winter.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz
