The Personal is Political. The Political is Personal.

 
the duty of youth: ungratefulness


Author Julien Green, at age 26:

Q.:

Who are the writers who have influenced you the most?

A.:

I know of none. I have never had the awareness of being like anybody else. I admit that I have never wanted it. I'll go even further. I will say that I have never read a fine book without having the desire to make something completely different. Moreover, I have always thought that the first duty of a young writer is ingratitude. [le premier devoir d'un jeune écrivain est l'ingratitude] He should strive to be faithful only to himself.

The above taken from Green's almost classically poised responses in a long, April 1927 interview by Frédéric Lefèvre.

The interview seems to have been included in volume 1 of Green's complete works, but was recently republished.

posted by TiR at 7:01 AM