Clive James Quotes

I read Russian literature a lot.

At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United States would be a double major in Russian and French, but I have to admit that the pressure of getting through so many books spoiled reading for me.

I had English grammar book and started to teach myself. I read 'Catcher in Rye,' in Russian. I was amazed at freedom in 'Catcher in Rye!' Freedom to have those perceptions of life!

Yes, I can speak a bit and I can read and write in Russian. I learned it from my grandmother who raised me with all the Russian fairytales.

I would love to be bilingual. I think having a second or third language at my bidding would open up the world in amazing ways.

My niece is - her name is Sasha, is currently learning Russian at Melbourne University and I look forward to the day when I can talk to her about Pushkin.

I love to see people's faces change when they hear me speak English, and they realize how far I have been able to go.

I studied Hindi in school and that's come in handy.

It's very difficult to write in Russian for someone who has never been schooled in Russian.

I have worked really hard to reach where I am - I worked hard on my Hindi and diction because I am a Parsi and Hindi is not my strong point, and I've also learnt Tamil and Telugu because I want to get my lines right. I want to be known as a performer.

I'd love to master another language properly.

In fact, I learnt Hindi over a period of time after I started doing TV shows.

I want to play in Europe and learn another language. Spain and Italy are options.

I speak Vietnamese and conversational Spanish.

The world of literature is so rich and so enriching. The value is inestimable of what reading does for you.

As I grew, I began learning and speaking a word or two in Bengali and that increased my friends circle.

One does not read a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks with hopes that it will grant him a career in engineering; he does so because poetry helps him see something in the world that he might not have seen before.

There's definitely a culture of Russian literature in Turkey. And in the U.S. too, to an extent - especially Dostoevsky.

I learned Spanish as my second language from middle school through high school. I grew up volunteering at homeless shelters and tutoring kids of Latin immigrants in Atlanta, who didn't speak any English. That prepared me for when I traveled.

I'm always very keen to learn a skill or a language for my films.

Learn your language well and command it well, and you will have the first component to life.

There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.

Read somewhat in the English poets every day. You will find them elegant, entertaining and constructive companions through your whole life.

I wanted to see who this Yeats person was, and I said to my mother, 'I want a book by this person.' And she bought it for me, and a lot of it was over my head, but I had it.

I learned English in one month. I told myself I should listen. In the next month I could talk to everyone. I was so happy because I could do one thing...I could talk.