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Fran Lebowitz Quotes

Frances Ann Lebowitz is an American author, public speaker, and occasional actor. Lebowitz is known for her sardonic social commentary on American life as filtered through her New York City sensibilities. Some reviewers have called her a modern-day Dorothy Parker. Wikipedia  

✵ 27. October 1950   •   Other names Frank Lebowitz
Fran Lebowitz photo

Works
Social Studies
Fran Lebowitz
Metropolitan Life
Metropolitan Life
Fran Lebowitz
Fran Lebowitz: 34   quotes 5   likes

Famous Fran Lebowitz Quotes

“I never met anyone who didn't have a very smart child. What happens to these children, you wonder, when they reach adulthood?”

Fran Lebowitz

"Words Are Easy, Books Are Not," interview with Bob Morris, The New York Times (1994-08-10), Late Edition, Section C, page 1, column 1.

“Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Parental Guidance".
Social Studies (1981)

“Think before you speak. Read before you think. This will give you something to think about that you didn't make up yourself - a wise move at any age, but most especially at seventeen, when you are in the greatest danger of coming to annoying conclusions.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Tips for Teens".
Social Studies (1981)

“Take away a man’s actual sense of manhood — which is conventionally based on the ability to work, to earn money, to be self-sufficient, to provide for children — and you’ve got to give them something else. And they did.This hideous religion that’s all over the country — these huge church-malls — that’s what substitutes for these lost towns. But that’s not a town. That’s a cult. A town is diverse, in a real way, not in this fake way we have now. A community is a butcher and a doctor, a minister, a town troublemaker. A "community" is not a bunch of people united by some grievance. That’s just self-righteousness — incredibly dangerous and antidemocratic. People have become so rigid; their opinions seem to them like themselves. When that happens (and it has happened) people can’t change their minds. If you are identified by your opinions — if that is the very basis of yourself — how can you change your mind?”

Fran Lebowitz

Ruminator Magazine interview with Susannah McNeely (August/September 2005).

“The terrible state of public education has paid huge dividends in ignorance. Huge. We now have a country that can be told blatant lies — easily checkable, blatant lies — and I’m not talking about the covert workings of the CIA. When we have a terrorist attack, on September 11, 2001 with 19 men — 15 of them are Saudis — and five minutes later the whole country thinks they’re from Iraq — how can you have faith in the public? This is an easily checkable fact. The whole country is like the O. J. Simpson jurors.”

Fran Lebowitz

Ruminator Magazine interview with Susannah McNeely (August/September 2005).

“Children do not really need money. After all, they don't have to pay rent or send mailgrams.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Parental Guidance".
Social Studies (1981)

Fran Lebowitz Quotes about children

“I understand, of course, that many people find smoking objectionable. That is their right. I would, I assure you, be the very last to criticize the annoyed. I myself find many-- even most-- things objectionable. Being offended is the natural consequence of leaving one's home. I do not like aftershave lotion, adults who roller-skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. I do not, however, go around enacting legislation and putting up signs. In private I avoid such people; in public they have the run of the place. I stay at home as much as possible, and so should they. When it is necessary, however, to go out of the house, they must be prepared, as I am, to deal with the unpleasant personal habits of others. That is what "public" means.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes...Shut Them".
Social Studies (1981)

“All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable. The most common error made in matters of appearance is the belief that one should disdain the superficial and let the true beauty of one's soul shine through. If there are places on your body where this is a possibility, you are not attractive — you are leaking.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Manners" (p. 6).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“Do not allow children to mix drinks. It is unseemly and they use too much vermouth.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Parental Guidance"
Social Studies (1981)

Fran Lebowitz Quotes about people

“Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"People".
Social Studies (1981)

“Should novels generally be 600 pages? No, they should not. Half of writing, maybe 3/4 of writing, is editing. This seems to be a thing that has not gotten through to them. It’s my impression that you could get rid of half of most of these books. These people are not good enough to be this long, but they’re apparently also not good enough to be shorter.”

Fran Lebowitz

Ruminator Magazine interview http://www.ruminator.com/?p=82 with Susannah McNeely (August/September 2005).

“Most of my news, I get from the radio news stations. One of the stations' advertising lines is "Give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world." In 22 minutes, they just have time for the headlines, so they can only really tell you what happened — which, by the way, is the news. They tell you how many people were killed in Iraq today, but they don’t then bring on some Republican senator to explain to you how that’s good. Or, on the contrary, they don’t bring in a bunch of Democrats to tell you why it’s bad. They just tell you what happened. That’s the news. I am capable of analyzing my own news. What makes these people qualified to analyze my news for me? No matter what side they’re on, I never agree with them.”

Fran Lebowitz

Ruminator Magazine interview with Susannah McNeely (August/September 2005).

Fran Lebowitz Quotes

“Having been unpopular in high school is not just cause for book publication.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Letters" (p. 143).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

Books , School

“Bread that must be sliced with an ax is bread that is too nourishing.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Food for Thought and Vice Versa" (p. 109).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“Educational television should be absolutely forbidden. It can only lead to unreasonable expectations and eventual disappointment when your child discovers that the letters of the alphabet do not leap up out of books and dance around the room with royal-blue chickens.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Parental Guidance".
Social Studies (1981)

Books , Education , Disappointment , Dance

“Radio news is bearable. This is due to the fact that while the news is being broadcast the disc jockey is not allowed to talk.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"No News is Preferable" ( p. 221 http://books.google.com/books?id=wKnCCIk9O0wC&q=%22Radio+news+is+bearable+This+is+due+to+the+fact+that+while+the+news+is+being+broadcast+the+disc+jockey+is+not+allowed+to+talk%22&pg=PA221#v=onepage)
Originally published in "The Lebowitz Report" http://books.google.com/books?id=k_MxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Radio+news+is+bearable+This+is+due+to+the+fact+that+while+the+news+is+being+broadcast+the+disc+jockey+is+not+allowed+to+talk%22&pg=PA209#v=onepage column in Mademoiselle (1975)
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is for you.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Tips for Teens".
Social Studies (1981)

Life , Happiness

“If your sexual fantasies were truly of interest to others, they would no longer be fantasies.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Letters" (p. 143).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“I love sleep because it is both pleasant and safe to use. Pleasant because one is in the best possible company and safe because sleep is the consummate protection against the unseemliness that is the invariable consequence of being awake. What you don't know won't hurt you. Sleep is death without the responsibility.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Why I Love Sleep" (p. 91).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

Love , Death , Sleep , Hurt

“The conversational overachiever is someone whose grasp exceeds his reach. This is possible but not attractive.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"People".
Social Studies (1981)

“I don't believe in anything you have to believe in.”

Fran Lebowitz

Reported by Steve Pinker, " I am Steve Pinker, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard. Ask me anything. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1a67x4/i_am_steve_pinker_a_cognitive_psychologist_at/c8uiccn", Reddit.com (March 12, 2013).
Other

“There's no such thing as advice to the lovelorn. If they took advice, they wouldn't be lovelorn. You see, advice and lovelorn don't go together. Because advice makes love sound like some sort of cognitive activity, but we know that it isn't. We all know that it's some sort of horrible chemical reaction over which we have absolutely no control. And that's why advice doesn't work.”

Fran Lebowitz

Index Magazine interview http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/fran_lebowitz.shtml with David Savage (1997).

Love , Making love

“Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Tips for Teens".
Social Studies (1981)

Life

“No animal should ever jump up on the dining room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Pointers for Pets".
Social Studies (1981)

Animals

“Do not elicit your child's political opinions. He doesn't know any more than you do.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

" Parental Guidance https://books.google.com/books?id=xCV8OXwBuNcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22fran+lebowitz%22+%22parental+guidance%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiX3rO2xPvPAhXl1IMKHbrqAqAQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=%22Parental%20Guidance%20s%22&f=false".
Social Studies (1981)

“Rome is a very loony city in every respect. One needs but spend an hour or two there to realize that Fellini makes documentaries.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"A World View" (p. 64).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“Being a woman is of special interest only to aspiring male transsexuals. To actual women it is simply a good excuse not to play football.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Letters" (p. 144).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

Women , Football

“Should you be a teenager blessed with uncommon good looks, document this state of affairs by the taking of photographs. It is the only way anyone will ever believe you in years to come.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"Tips for Teens".
Social Studies (1981)

Way

“Women who insist on having the same options as men would do well to consider the option of being the strong, silent type.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Letters" (p. 143).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

Women , Men , Strong

“The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.”

Fran Lebowitz book Social Studies

"People".
Social Studies (1981)

Waiting

“How do you know if your child is a writer? Your obstetrician holds his stethoscope to your abdomen and only hears excuses.”

Fran Lebowitz

Reported in Ginai Bellafante, " Opinions You Won’t Find on Twitter: Fran Lebowitz Talks http://tv.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/arts/television/22lebowitz.html?pagewanted=2, The New York Times (November 21, 2010).
Other

“Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Mars: Living in a Small Way" (p. 101).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

Life , Sleep

“Any child who cannot do long division by himself does not deserve to smoke.”

Fran Lebowitz book Metropolitan Life

"Digital Clocks and Pocket Calculators: Spoilers of Youth" (p. 84).
Metropolitan Life (1978)

“I doubt there’s ever been a true thing said on Fox. Maybe the weather report, maybe not.”

Fran Lebowitz

Ruminator Magazine interview with Susannah McNeely (August/September 2005).

Weather

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