Authorial Identity Quotes

I am the suburb of a non-existent town, the prolix commentary on a book never written. I am nobody, nobody. I am a character in a novel which remains to be written, and I float, aerial, scattered without ever having been, among the dreams of a creature who did not know how to finish me off. ~ Fernando Pessoa

Aschenbach is not only a projection of Mann in the obvious ways - same daily routines, author of the works Mann had planned - nor even in sharing his author's aspirations, doubts, and sexual identity. His watchword, "Durchhalten!" [persevere, keep going] could be Mann's own. ~ Philip Kitcher

Even when God chose Israel, he did not create the people of Israel as he created its human members, as natural beings. Instead, God formed the people of Israel from individual human beings already living in the natural world, calling them into a new historical identity. ~ David Novak

Our sense of self, formulated in large part by the untold number of cross-related connections that we make with our physical, social, and family environments, is reliant upon fitting into our social fabric. The educational environment, family relationships, peer groups, books, television, films, music, along with an assortment of other cultural events shape our emergent persona. Our successes and failures interacting in the world leave their collective imprint upon the wet clay of our forming brains. We are sentimental creatures who cling to past memories. We are inquisitive critters who venture forth from our protective dens to explore new territory. We are perceptive organisms equipped with five basic senses. We are sentient beings who can consciously organize our sense impressions into guiding ideas and useful principles. Our survival responses form a central cord of our emotions. We are receptive, compassionate beings that respond with both body and mind to global stimuli. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

As part of my efforts to fight identity theft, I worked with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee to strengthen consumer protection with a reasonable notification requirement. ~ Melissa Bean

The effort to discover an authentic self, to strip away layers of alienation and culturally imposed identity and find a soul in a clear, unimpeded communion with the sacred is consonant with spiritual quests throughout the ages. Spiritual feminists, no less than medieval mystics, are searching in the ways made available to them through their culture to separate themselves from everything in their hearts and minds that puts them at odds with the divine plan (and therefore with their own best interests), and to find a true harmony between themselves and the universe. ~ Cynthia Eller

Be confident enough to show your true self to the world. ~ Fennel Hudson

Berlin is still going through a transition since the Cold War - both in what used to be East and West Berlin. I can still sense the confusion and the struggle for identity there in the streets. There's a pulse to it. ~ Diane Kruger

Q: Why do you think that people are so protective of their egos? Why is it so hard to let go of one's ego? A: People are afraid of the emptiness of space, or the absence of company, the absence of a shadow. It could be a terrifying experience to have no one to relate to, nothing to relate with. The idea of it can be extremely frightening, though not the real experience. It is generally a fear of space, a fear that we will not be able to anchor ourselves to any solid ground, that we will lose our identity as a fixed and solid and definite thing. This could be very threatening. ~ Chogyam Trungpa

Don't ever think that life is unfair. People may be different in status and identity, but what matters most is your personality. God created all humans with equal love and attention. In times that you think you are alone, remember that He is always there for you. He will never leave you because He loves you. Always bear in mind that all of us are His children and He is our father. And in times of need, hold on to Him because He will never let you suffer. Even though life varies in some circumstances, all will experience a composition of victory and failure. Victory as a reward and failure as a lesson. If you are born poor, do everything to achieve your dreams and strive for success. If you are born rich, be charitable to others and keep your feet on the ground. Everyone is special. Everyone is unique. Everyone is blessed. But not everyone knows how to value it. Be the best that you can become, always acquire happiness and live your life to the fullest! ~ Joe Mari Fadrigalan

That while the past - the consequences of the past - might have a dire effect o me, it still doesn't change who I am. We weren't created to find our identity in life. We were created to discover our Creator. In doing so, our identity is defined. ~ Jaime Jo Wright

Throwing off despotism and tyranny is our history and part of our national identity - something in which we can take incredible pride. ~ Mike Crapo

When we attend to someone who greets us, it is not to require confirmation, attestation, certification of our identity. To respond to someone who greets us is to drop our concerns and thoughts, and expose ourselves to her. It is to expose ourselves to questioning and judgment. Simply responding to her greeting is to recognize her rights over us. Each time we enter into conversation we expose ourselves to being altered or emptied out, emptied of our convictions, our expectations, our memories. ~ Alphonso Lingis

It was an identity crisis. I was born and raised in France, but I never really felt French, so I needed to find something that I was more connected to. I used to go back to Tunisia every summer, but I was more into the language, my Arabic roots. ~ EL Seed

Hadn't retired reporter Stan warned him of how protective Cosimo was of his granddaughters? What if the Carusos had discovered his identity and wanted to rub him out as they'd rubbed out his father?
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and
at the hour of our death. ~ Christie Ridgway

Shouldn't we rather recognize that each person is a sort of unconscious anthology of all epochs of man; and that he may at times be moving simultaneously among different epochs? ~ Nick Joaquin

To speak of "the rise of Protestantism" is to offer a controlling narrative that links these potentially disparate events as part of a greater, more significant movement. So persuasive was this emerging narrative that many of the reforming groups scattered across Europe realigned their sense of identity and purpose to conform to it. As these movements began to locate themselves on a historical and conceptual map, each came increasingly to identify itself in terms of what was perceived as a greater overarching movement. A ~ Alister E. McGrath

Only then will women be able to talk about what "beauty" really involves: the attention of people we do not know, rewards for things we did not earn, sex from men who reach for us as for a brass ring on a carousel, hostility and scepticism from other women, adolescence extended longer than it ought to be, cruel aging, and a long hard struggle for identity. And we will learn that what is good about "beauty" - the promise of confidence, sexuality, and the self-regard of a healthy individuality - are actually qualities that have nothing to do with "beauty" specifically, but are deserved by and, as the myth is dismantled, available to all women. The best that "beauty" offers belongs to us all by right of femaleness. When we separate "beauty" from sexuality, when we celebrate the individuality of our features and characteristics, women will have access to a pleasure in our bodies that unites us rather than divides us. The beauty myth will be history. ~ Naomi Wolf

Give up the idea of being a person, that is all. You need not become what you are anyhow. There is the identity of what you are and there is the person superimposed on it. All you know is the person, the identity - which is not a person - you do not know, for you never doubted, never asked yourself the crucial question: 'Who am I?' ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

He was smiling! That was it; her actual sunrise. It lit the candles of answers to every query of her life.
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Having wings is one thing and flying another. Having eyes is one thing and dreaming another. Having a heart is one thing and falling in love, quite another.
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Destiny is the root of all limitations and a dream is the seed for all liberations.
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By the way, is it darkness that gives light an identity or is it the other way round?
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If life is divided into two parts, then one part is definitely about living it and the other, about missing the moments lived.
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How can I comfort anyone with words of hope when I am myself empty of it?
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It might all sound bizarre to you because I am sharing my thoughts for her only today but believe me something happened from the first time I saw her. Something did happen. The air (or what was it?) told me she was mine though I was a little apprehensive to accept the fact then but now, I think I am in love. No, I know I am in love for the first time in my life. (Ritwika was just a crush). It's crazy, I know. It's only been few weeks that I first saw her. I haven't even talked to her till now. But does that really matter?
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What the fuck is it with first love? So many ifs and buts. Damn!
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Seriously I do have something to tell God: It's tough to be God, I know, but mind you it's tougher to be human in this crazy fucking world of yours.
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No one asked me ~ Novoneel Chakraborty

You have to be your own person. You can't let people's opinions determine how you think about yourself. There's a difference between identity and self-identity. ~ Amy Tan

The people who are competing business-wise out there want what other successful labels and artists have. I don't want what they have; I want my own path, my own sound, my own identity. Record labels care nothing about identity or artistic freedom, they want good business. ~ Joe Nichols

One should be known for a kind heart,because you are not just a so and so person,you are an identity who is part of the almighty god,who above all likes kindness,because he is the bestower of all desired attributes,but is benevolently looking for kindness from his creations ~ Jaspreet Kaur

I come from a country and also a continent whose identity is in the making. We're a very young culture, and I think that things are not yet crystallised. ~ Walter Salles

I've never been one to bow down to people who try to question my identity because I don't fit their mould of what an Aboriginal Australian is supposed to be or look like. ~ Shari Sebbens

If she looked further than the wedding, it was to see marriage as the beginning of individual existence, this skirmish from which one one's spurs, from which one set out on the true quests of life. ~ Evelyn Waugh

There are a host of ethnic minorities in China, but they often have a weak sense of identity and are relatively small in total number. History has taught the Han that other groups will and should ultimately be absorbed and assimilated as Han. There is a belief that the Han enjoy a superior and far more advanced culture. ~ Martin Jacques

Having an avatar doesn't give you an identity, and having a persona online doesn't make you a personality either. ~ Marilyn Manson

Be alert and present and see that your identity is not from your past story; who you truly are is the alert presence that is inseparable from the present moment. You are this, which has no name and no form. ~ Eckhart Tolle

Intimacy is, in a quite straightforward ontogenetic sense, essential to
human life. Without communal care, human beings simply cannot
emerge into the world. Nor is this simply a point about physical sustenance, but indeed about human identity as well. As ~ Samuel Kimbriel

You're not a lawyer. You're someone who helps people deal with legal matters. You're not a doctor. You're a fellow who saves people's lives or gives them the right advice to improve their health.
Add a verb to your identity – it keeps you sane; not a pompous noun – which may only boost your ego; it may distract you from your purpose, from the actions you need to take.
Your job is to do something, not to be something. ~ Vizi Andrei

Our belief in a limited and impoverished identity is such a strong habit that without it we are afraid we wouldn't know how to be. ~ Jack Kornfield

David Frum has been saying - [Donald] Trump is all about conservatism as identity, not conservatism as ideology. ~ Chris Hayes

I'm back in the basement of the Ascension Catholic Church, Francisco. And Little Suzie is here. She's lying on an alter, and they're hurting her. The bastards. They're hurting her. There is blood all over the place. There are candles burning and people chanting." I could hardly believe what I was seeing and I cried out, "What is this? I don't understand. What the hell is this?"
"Ask your unconscious mind to tell you, Suzie," he responded, ever so gently. "Ask."
I did ask. And the answer swept over me with a force so strong that I felt as if I had been knocked backward.
"Lord! Oh, Lord. This is satanic ritual abuse, Francisco. That's what this is! That's what this is!" I screamed. "Satanic ritual abuse. And they're using Little Suzie as part of their goddamned ritual.
p150 ~ Suzie Burke

Politics is /all/ emotion-- hating the other side, valorizing your own, propping up your own identity. I'm right, I'm righteous, I /care/. No one can stand to admit they're as compromised and clueless as everyone else. People decide something /feels/ right, then they warp all their thinking around that. ~ Will Boast

You are not a piece of furniture to be accommodated. You are a priceless pearl to be treasured. ~ Paul Bamikole

In the second decade of the twenty-first century, that spectrum appears to be giving way in many regions to one defined by identity. The left has focused less on broad economic equality and more on promoting the interests of a wide variety of groups perceived as being marginalized - blacks, immigrants, women, Hispanics, the LGBT community, refugees, and the like. The right, meanwhile, is redefining itself as patriots who seek to protect traditional national identity, an identity that is often explicitly connected to race, ethnicity, or religion. ~ Francis Fukuyama

Your identity is like your shadow: not always visible and yet always present. ~ Fausto Cercignani

There was a closet somewhere inside me. Every day I went near that just to open the door and see all the masks of my face that I hid there.
To select one which isn't me but still would look like me, which would hide me from the world in a better way. Day after day I stored so many masks in that closet that one day I searched for my real face in it and it wasn't there. I never understood whether I lost it or I forgot how it looked like, the more I searched the most lost I felt. ~ Akshay Vasu

What is you, Sam?"
I hesitated, trying to think about how I visualized myself. All I came up with was how other people visualized me. I was visualized as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a best friend by those people in my life, but I had no clue as to how I viewed myself as a person. I'd never bothered to carve out an identity for myself. ~ Andrea Smith

The solution to the problem of identity is, get lost ~ Norman O. Brown

In my opinion, to assume a persons' motivations, life experiences or self identity may, at best, demonstrate one's ignorance and, at worst, display one's hubris. ~ Tristan A. Star

The Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea at his summer palace and invited the bishops to attend, all expenses paid. As an added lure, he even mentioned "the excellent temperature of the air." Constantine had his own agenda. He wanted to get this unsettled problem of Jesus' identity straightened out so that Christianity could better serve as cement for his sprawling empire. He ~ Daniel C. Maguire

Being Latino means being from everywhere, and that is exactly what America is supposed to be about. ~ Raquel Cepeda

It should not be presumed that these people (the Jews), who are so separated from us by their religion, have any right to make our laws. But why blame the Jews? It is we who lack all feeling for our own identity, all sense of honour. ~ Richard Wagner

I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father. ~ Michael Douglas