"I come from a place that likes grandeur; it likes large gestures; it is not inhibited by flourish; it is a rhetorical society; it is a society of physical performance; it is a society of style."

Derek Walcott Literature See all quotes by Derek Walcott →

React to this quote

More by Derek Walcott

“Trinidad Theatre Workshop”

“I never thought I would see the day when America would become so self-centered and hypocritical. I mean if democracy considers liberal to be a term of abuse, then we should be terrified. A liberal is someone who belives in liberty. And if it is wrong to be liberal, then the other side has to be facist.”

“Boston Playwrights' Theatre”

“Good science and good art are always about a condition of awe … I don’t think there is any other function for the poet or the scientist in the human tribe but the astonishment of the soul.”

“Lannan Foundation Reading and Conversation With Glyn Maxwell”

“International Poetry Forum Readings”

Resonant Thoughts

"Human nature, human nature acts as it acts when it is identified when there is an identity but it is not human nature that has anything to do with that it is that anybody is there where they are, it i…"

— Gertrude Stein

Literature1874–1946

#Human Nature

"To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency; to forgive them is cruelty. The severity of tyrants has barbarity for its principle; that of a republican government is founded on beneficence. Theref…"

— Maximilien Robespierre

Politics1758–1794

#Human Nature

"I can't seem to fathom that the things important to me are not important to other people as well, and so I come off sounding like a missionary, someone whose job it is to convert rather than listen."

— David Sedaris

Entertainment1956

#Human Nature

"I must admit to you that there are still jail cells waiting for us, and dark and difficult moments. But if we will go on with the faith that nonviolence and its power can transform dark yesterdays int…"

— Martin Luther King

Social Activism1929–1968

#friendship