At that moment, I missed my mother more than I had ever imagined possible and wanted only to live somewhere quiet and beautiful with her alone, but also at that moment I wanted only to see her lying dead, all withered and in a coffin at my feet.

—Jamaica Kincaid

alone mother quiet

About Jamaica Kincaid

Portrait of Jamaica Kincaid

Jamaica Kincaid (; born Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson on May 25, 1949) is an Antiguan–American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. Born in St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, she lives in North Bennington, Vermont, and is Professor of African and African American Studies in Residence Emerita at...

More quotations from Jamaica Kincaid

I do not know the end of my living and the beginning of my dying, for they—living and dying—are both mixed up.

—Jamaica Kincaid

living death beginning

I am not at all interested in the pursuit of happiness. I am interested in pursuing a truth, and the truth often seems to be not happiness but its opposite.

—Jamaica Kincaid

Out of the corner of one eye, I could see my mother. Out of the corner of the other eye, I could see her shadow on the wall, cast there by the lamplight. It was a big and solid shadow, and it looked so much like my mother that I became frightened. For I could not be sure whether for the rest of my life I would be able to tell when it was really my mother and when it was really her shadow standing between me and the rest of the world.

—Jamaica Kincaid

life mother shadow

More quotations tagged with “quiet”

Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs?

—Spike Milligan

Love isn't found in words. It's found in quiet moments, a look, a sigh, a smile, a gladness. And very often, it's shown with sacrifice.

—Lorraine Heath in Just Wicked Enough

love sacrifice quiet gladness

Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I'm aloof. Maybe I just want to be alone. Maybe I'm not good at conversation. We all can't be cool and gregarious and 'Hey, bro what up?' like he apparently is. Some of us aren't wired for that.

—Jenn Bennett in Approximately

alone conversation quiet introversion aloof

I turn off the radio, listen to the quiet. Which has its own rich sound. Which I knew, but had forgotten. And it is good to remember.

—Elizabeth Berg in Open House

sound radio quiet

Cultivate quietness in your speech, in your thoughts, in your emotions. Speak habitually low. Wait for attention and then your low words will be charged with dynamite.

—Elbert Hubbard

emotions speech quiet

History

23 Nov 2014 Added