James Rebanks Quotes

#1. Later I would understand that modern industrial communities are obsessed with the importance of 'going somewhere' and 'doing something with your life'. The implication is an idea I have come to hate, that staying local and doing physical work doesn't count for much.

James Rebanks

#2. It was like his code of honour. Work that needs doing should be done. Work is its own reward. Never step back from work or you look bad.

James Rebanks

#3. Books were considered a sign of idleness at best and dangerous at worst.

James Rebanks

#4. [O]ccasionally the sunlight through the library windows would catch my eye, and I knew I should be out in that. I felt as if I had cut myself adrift from everything I loved.

James Rebanks

#5. It feels strange to be home, as if I am now just a visitor to the land that I love, no longer really a part of it. I understand for the first time that our sense of belonging is all about participation. We belong because we are part of the work of this place.

James Rebanks

#6. If you read more, worked harder, thought things through smartly, or wrote or argued better than other people, you won.

James Rebanks