Joseph Kanon Quotes

#1. I think most writers' houses are disappointing. What's much more atmospheric and interesting are the places they wrote about.

Joseph Kanon

#2. Being an editor doesn't make you a better writer - or vice versa. The worst thing any editor can do is be in competition with his writer.

Joseph Kanon

#3. When you're editing, you want to be the perfect appreciator, not another writer.

Joseph Kanon

#4. I like the busy-ness of office life. What I discovered, to my surprise, is that I love the solitary nature of writing. What happens is that you write when you're ready.

Joseph Kanon

#5. At graduation, I assumed I'd be in publishing, but first I went to England and got a master's degree in English Literature. And then I came back to New York and had a series of publishing jobs, the way one does.

Joseph Kanon

#6. You know the sultans used to light their garden parties with turtles? They'd put candles on their backs and let them wander around. Hundreds of them.

Joseph Kanon

#7. Venice was always one step removed from what was going on. If you were in Turin or in Milan or one of the industrial centers, you would have had a much more active political constituency. Venice essentially lived for itself.

Joseph Kanon