John Sladek Quotes & Sayings

“See, I have no journalism in my background, so I wasn't practised at research or writing non-fiction, nor at handling the truth in a journalistic way. Journalists know when to call a halt and write something, but I kept on looking for answers.”

“Most publishers seem very reluctant to publish short story collections at all; they bring them out in paperback, often disguised as novels.”

“I have a kind of standard explanation why, which goes like this: Science fiction is one way of making sense out of a senseless world.”

“We didn't have a phone when I was a kid, and I was too shy to smash any public phones, and our town didn't have a pool hall either, so I had to hang out at the public library - and anyway, I told myself stories.”

“People have laughed at all great inventors and discoverers.”

“The future, according to some scientists, will be exactly like the past, only far more expensive.”

“SF has at least the advantage of not depending on preconceptions.”

“I found some time ago that I have to be careful, while working on a novel, what I read.”

“I started writing, or rather, thinking, stories as a child, and at that time the reason was very clear.”

“I usually like whatever I've recently finished best.”