Stanley Elkin Quotes

There are only three events in a man's life; birth, life, and death; he is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain, and he forgets to live.

I think I want to talk about life from the point of view of death.

I thought I had a clear picture of death, but now I know it's a mystery and it will always be a mystery, although it is something we all have in common: everybody knows that life ends with death.

We are all racing towards death. No matter how many great, intellectual conclusions we draw during our lives, we know they're all only man-made, like God. I begin to wonder where it all leads. What can you do, except do what you can do as best you know how.

All I can say is, death is a part of life.

If you haven't understood that if you are born you die, you scarcely deserve to be able to be alive.

It is only in the light of the inescapable fact of death that a person can adequately engage and enter upon the mysterious fact of life.

Death showed up in my life very early on, so I'm aware of it. If you look at most of the things I write there's a sort of contemplation of mortality - although 'True Blood' doesn't fall into that. Even though there's such a ridiculously high body count!

Nothing is a matter of life and death except life and death.

Maybe it's ALWAYS the end of the world. Maybe you're alive for a while, and then you realize you're going to die, and that's such an insane thing to comprehend, you look around for answers and the only answer is that the world must die with you.

We are all born and someday we'll all die. Most likely to some degree alone. Our aloneness in this world is, maybe not anymore, a thing to mourn.

Life is a predicament which precedes death.

We all labor against our own cure, for death is the cure of all diseases.

First our pleasures die - and then our hopes, and then our fears - and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust - and we die too.

Death can really absorb a person. Lik most people, I would find it pleasant not to have to go, but you just accept that it's more or less inevitable.

If we don't know life, how can we know death?

Death is a very important part of life.

Life and death. At some point we're gonna leave this world. Do I know when? Absolutely not.

I'm just observing the world. I was born into it, like you were, and then I found out there were some really disturbing aspects to being alive, like the fact that you weren't going to be alive forever - that bothered me.

I mean, whatever kills you kills you, and your death is authentic no matter how you die.

I know that I have lived because I have felt, and, feeling giving me the knowledge of my existence, I know likewise that I shall exist no more when I shall have ceased to feel.

We do survive every moment, after all, except the last one.

In the end we discover the only condition for living is to die.

Between my head and my hand, there is always the face of death.

Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave.