Alan Furst Quotes

London is full of creative people - you can never say that it's not.

New York is full of creative people, not only in fashion.

New York always has a lot of creativity going on.

I love being with artists because I'm always open to getting into something.

The artist discards all theories, both his own and those of others. He forgets everything when he is in front of his canvas.

I don't like to box myself in when I'm composing.

Once the amateur's naive approach and humble willingness to learn fades away, the creative spirit of good photography dies with it. Every professional should remain always in his heart an amateur.

What I'm trying to do is to write a story. If you take something from it, that's wonderful; if you don't, that's wonderful as well.

Because that is what such a city is, in the New World, a writer's heaven.

For me, L.A. was, and is, a very creative place to be.

When you're making music, it's meant to be shared with people. Sometimes, even if I'm writing a song, someone else brings a vibe. There's something different about it. If someone can play a better bassline than me, I'll let them do it. I'm just here to fit in and see where it goes.

I need someone who understands an artist's mentality. I couldn't be with someone who wouldn't let me have my freedom.

Artists thrive off each other, and when you see other people doing cool stuff, it inspires you to do cool stuff.

I put myself in the place of the listener when editing my writing. The last thing that I want to do is be preached at and told who to be or what to think when listening to an artist. However, I do want to be inspired. There's a fine line.

People always say, 'Write what you know', but I've always found that to be terrible advice. It's quite limiting, what you know.

I don't know very many people in the art world, only socialise with the few I like, and have little time to gnaw my nails with anxiety about any criticism I hear about.

I do think Austin is a great town for writers; we have a lot of them here. But I grew up in Austin, and so I didn't move here because it was a creative mecca; I was just lucky to live here.

New York is the place that made my and other artists' dreams come true by giving us a chance to realise our ideas and concepts. It was a great place for making a presentation of artistic creation.

When you live in New York and are an artist and are interested in people, you meet a lot of people.

I've often envied those writers in the Western world who can peacefully practice their craft and earn a living thereby. I cannot say that I would not have preferred that to the dangerous paths through which my art is taking me. However, we must go where the spirit moves us, and I can only hope that my travails will have brought pleasure in the future to many more people than my books will probably have done.

I wanted to make a place for filmmakers and artists to come and 'do their stuff,' but I didn't expect it to have had the impact that it has.

New York, to me, is the arts capital of the world. I just feel so inspired when I'm there. I would love to live there at some point in my life and do a play.

I want a space for people to feel safe and be creative. Actors want it, too. They want to feel like they're listened to, and they're safe to experiment.

To walk into a studio, for me, is just like walking onto a beach or something.

There are so many musicians in New York, and there is this energy and fire in this city that inspires you and makes you want to learn and to get out there. People are constantly evolving and constantly creating here, and you get pushed along just by being in that energy.