Peter Handke Quotes

7 Sourced Quotes

If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.

Peter Handke

If Thomas Mann counts as the greatest German writer of this century, writing makes no sense at all. Anyone who follows him is already lost as far as I'm concerned.

Peter Handke

Proud of my near-madness, as if I had attained a goal.

Peter Handke

My way of thinking is often so wrong, so untenable, because I think as if I were talking to someone else.

Peter Handke

A fine thing: suddenly to forget about one's history, one's past, to stop feeling that one's present happiness is endangered by what one used to be.

Peter Handke

Tense, unnerved, and close to madness before writing—and when I read what I've written it looks so calm.

Peter Handke

The main thing:... not to let myself be defined by history, not to take it as an excuse—despise it in those who hide their personal insignificance behind it—and yet know it, in order to understand people and above all to see through them (my hatred of history as a refuge for be-nothings).

Peter Handke

Peter Handke

Creative Commons

Born: December 6, 1942 (age 77)

Bio: Peter Handke is an Austrian novelist, playwright and political activist. His body of work has been awarded numerous literary prizes.

Known for:

A Sorrow Beyond Dreams (1972)
Offending the Audience (2001)
The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1970)
Slow homecoming (1981)
Short Letter, Long Farewell (1972)

Peter Handke on Wikipedia

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