"History must not be written with bias, and both sides must be given, even if there is only one side."

John Betjeman Literature See all quotes by John Betjeman →

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“The test of an abstract picture, for me, is not my first reaction to it, but how long I can stand it hanging on the wall of a room where I am living.”

“Hymns are the poetry of the people.”

“Topography is one of my chief themes in my poetry...about the country, the suburbs and the seaside...then there comes love...and increasingly, the fear of death.”

“Yes, I haven't had enough sex.”

“Hymn tunes are the nearest we've got to English folk music.”

“Saint Pancras was a fourteen-year old Christian boy who was martyred in Rome in AD 304 by the Emperor Diocletian. In England he is better known as a railway station.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Once upon a time my princely sister holy Inana summoned me in her holy heart from the bright mountains, had me enter brick-built Kulaba. Where there was a marsh then in Unug, it was full of water. Whe…"

— Enmerkar

Literature

#time

"The one place for art-as-art is the museum of fine art. The reason of the museum or fine art is the preservation of ancient and modern art that cannot be made again and that does not have to be done a…"

— Ad Reinhardt

Art1913–1967

#history

"The play is my gut's response to stories that have to do with my own bloodline. I think it is a great luxury and adventure to be able to dive into one's own history, one's own lineage, psychology and …"

— Philip Kan Gotanda

Entertainment1951

#history

"Brazil, in their famous history have allowed seven goals only one other time. That was in 1934, when they lost eight-four to Yugoslavia. Well, you and I are pinching ourselves. I think everybody here …"

— Ian Darke

Sports1950

#success