“When I hear the word "stream" uttered with such a revolting primness, what I think of is urine and not the contemporary novel. And besides, it isn't new, it is far from the dernier cri. Shakespeare used it continually, much too much in my opinion, and there's Tristram Shandy, not to mention the Agamemnon.”

— James Joyce

Said in conversation with Frederic Prokosch and quoted in Prokosch's Voices: A Memoir (1983), "At Sylvia’s." Joyce was replying to Prokosch's statement that Molly Bloom’s monologue in Ulysses was written as a stream of consciousness. "Molly Bloom was a down-to-earth lady" said Joyce. "She would never have indulged in anything so refined as a stream of consciousness."

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James Joyce 191

Irish novelist and poet 1882–1941

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John Muir (1838–1914) Scottish-born American naturalist and author

" Explorations in the Great Tuolumne Cañon http://books.google.com/books?id=ZikGAQAAIAAJ&pg=P139", Overland Monthly, volume XI, number 2 (August 1873) pages 139-147 (at page 141); modified slightly and reprinted in John of the Mountains (1938), page 69
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“The only thing I remember is … he put a lot of urination scenes in Tromeo and Juliet. Too much of that. Other than that, I think he did a great job. It was his idea to put in the line, "What light through yonder plexiglass breaks?" That set up a stunt with plexiglass that almost blew me up. They used too much dynamite, or whatever they use for stunts like that.”

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“Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap.”

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version in original Flemish (citaat van Roger Raveel, in het Vlaams): ..Ik wil geen predikant zijn die de wereld wil verbeteren volgens zijn eigen opinie. Daarvoor denk ik te relatief en wellicht ben ik onafhankelijker en ga ik niet zozeer uit van een reflex op de traditie en op de sociale en politieke structuren maar veeleer uit een steeds opnieuw tasten naar het wezen der dingen.
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“I think people talk too much; that's the truth of the matter. I do. I don't believe in words. People use too many words and usually wrongly. I am sure that in the distant future people will talk much less and in a more essential way.”

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Context: I think people talk too much; that's the truth of the matter. I do. I don't believe in words. People use too many words and usually wrongly. I am sure that in the distant future people will talk much less and in a more essential way. If people talk a lot less, they will be happier. Don't ask me why.

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Meet the Author: Kate Williams
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2 May 2021

“and love is a word used
too much and
much
too soon.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Source: The Night Torn Mad With Footsteps

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James Joyce 191

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