Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Millerwas an American writer. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms, developing a new sort of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association and mysticism. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricornand The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy, all of which are based on his experiences in New York and Paris, and all of which were banned in the United...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAutobiographer
Date of Birth26 December 1891
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring.
To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is to want to sing. This then is a song. I am singing.
Every day that we fail to live out the maximum of our potentialities we kill the Shakespeare, Dante, Homer, Christ which is in us.
We create our fate every day . . . most of the ills we suffer from are directly traceable to our own behavior.
In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest.
I made up my mind that I would hold onto nothing, that I would expect nothing.
The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference.
I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.
The prisoner is not the one who has commited a crime, but the one who clings to his crime and lives it over and over.
A man of good will with a little effort and belief in his own powers can enjoy a deep, tranquil, rich life - provided he go his own way.... To live one's own life is still the best way of life, always was and always will be.
An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.
I soon found out you can't change the world. The best you can do is to learn to live with it.
Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.
Life has to be given a meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning.