Diane Ackerman - Quodid

About

Picture of Diane Ackerman

Diane Ackerman (born October 7, 1948) is an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her books and films.

Quotes from Diane Ackerman

What is erotic? The acrobatic play of the imagination. The sea of memories in which we bathe. The way we caress and worship things with our eyes. Our willingness to be stirred by the sight of the voluptuous. What is erotic is our passion for the liveliness of life.

—Diane Ackerman

life imagination erotic worship passion

Life goes on, having nowhere else to go.

—Diane Ackerman

life time progress

One can live at a low flame. Most people do. For some, life is an exercise in moderation (best china saved for special occasions), but given something like death, what does it matter if one looks foolish now and then, or tries too hard, or cares too deeply?

—Diane Ackerman

If there is anything in the world that can really be called a man's property, it is surely that which is the result of his mental activity.

—Diane Ackerman

Caregiver: that word should weigh more than others on a page, sag it down a bit and wrinkle it, because the simple-sounding job frazzles as it consumes and depletes. Not that it's only gloomy. Caregiving offers many fringe benefits, including the sheer sensory delight of nourishing and grooming, sharing, and playing. There's something uniquely fulfilling about being a lodestar, feeling so deeply needed, and it's fun finding creative ways to gladden a loved one's life. But caregiving does buttonhole you; you're stitched in one place.

—Diane Ackerman

Life is a thing that mutates without warning, not always in enviable ways. All part of the improbable adventure of being alive, of being a brainy biped with giant dreams on a crazy blue planet.

—Diane Ackerman

Though we marry as adults, we don't marry adults. We marry children who have grown up and still rejoice in being children, especially if we're creative.

—Diane Ackerman

The best way to divulge a secret is to tell someone not to say anything about it.

—Diane Ackerman

The knowing, I told myself, is only a vapor of the mind, and yet it can wreck havok with one's sanity.

—Diane Ackerman

Doing what you love means dealing with things you don't.

—Diane Ackerman

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

—Diane Ackerman

Who you are isn't tied solely to what you say, even though it may feel that way to you now.

—Diane Ackerman