Edward Albee quotes

Edward Albee was an acclaimed American playwright, famous for works such as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". His plays are known for their sharp dialogue and exploration of social and psychological themes. He influenced modern theatre and is regarded as one of the leading dramatists of the 20th century. Here are 38 of his quotes:

Sometimes it's necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. (Edward Albee)

Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.

Edward Albee

You gotta have swine to show you where the truffles are.

Edward Albee

A play is fiction - and fiction is fact distilled into truth.

Edward Albee

Your source material is the people you know, not those you don't know, [but] every character is an extension of the author's own personality.

Edward Albee

I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humor.

Edward Albee

I'm not suggesting that the play is without fault; all of my plays are imperfect, I'm rather happy to say - it leaves me something to do.

Edward Albee

One must let the play happen to one; one must let the mind loose to respond as it will, to receive impressions, to sense rather than know, to gather rather than immediately understand.

Edward Albee

What people really want in the theater is fantasy involvement and not reality involvement.

Edward Albee

American critics are like American universities. They both have dull and half-dead faculties.

Edward Albee

Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it. A good writer turns fact into truth; a bad writer will, more often than not, accomplish the opposite. (Edward Albee)

If Attila the Hun were alive today, he'd be a drama critic.

Edward Albee

I created myself, and I'll attack anybody I feel like.

Edward Albee

The only time I'll get good reviews is if I kill myself.

Edward Albee

What I wanted to get at is the value difference between pornographic playing-cards when you're a kid, and pornographic playing-cards when you're older. It's that when you're a kid you use the cards as a substitute for a real experience, and when you're older you use real experience as a substitute for the fantasy.

Edward Albee

A playwright is someone who lets his guts hang out on the stage.

Edward Albee

When you write a play, you make a set of assumptions - that you have something to say, that you know how to say it, that its worth saying, and that maybe someone will come along for the ride. That's all.

Edward Albee

I write to find out what I'm talking about.

Edward Albee

Martha: Truth or illusion, George; you don't know the difference. George: No, but we must carry on as though we did. Martha: Amen.

Edward Albee

I am not interested in living in a city where there isn't a production by Samuel Beckett running.

Edward Albee

If you have no wounds, how can you know if you're alive? (Edward Albee)

What I mean by an educated taste is someone who has the same tastes that I have.

Edward Albee

Dashed hopes and good intentions. Good, better, best, bested.

Edward Albee

I said I was impressed, Martha. I'm beside myself with jealousy. What do you want me to do, throw up?

Edward Albee

Q: Do you find quite a difference between the audience at large and the critics as a group? A: Well, one is a group of human beings, one is not.

Edward Albee

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Edward Albee

Edward Albee - Image

Photo: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0

Occupation: American Dramatist
Born: March 12, 1928
Died: September 16, 2016
Quotes count: 38
Wikipedia: Edward Albee

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