Tennessee Williams was born on this day in 1911. Decades after his time on earth, his works such as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are still referenced in pop culture (“STELLAAAAAAA…!”) and taught in high schools around the globe.
Here are ten of our favorite quotes that reflect William’s voice and inner turmoil, showing that not only your strong passions, but that overwhelming frustrations can be a turning point in your life filling you with inspiration.
“What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.”
“Time is the longest distance between two places.”
“How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.”
“There’s a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go.”
“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
“Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.”
“When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.”
“The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.”
“Life is an unanswered question, but let’s still believe in the dignity and importance of the question.”
“In memory everything seems to happen to music.”
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