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Philip Schultz Quotes

Powerful Philip Schultz for Daily Growth

About Philip Schultz

Philip Schultz (born March 19, 1952) is an American poet, essayist, and educator whose work has been praised for its lyrical intensity and emotional depth. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Schultz grew up in a working-class Jewish family. He attended Cornell University, where he majored in literature, and later received his MFA from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. Schultz has been influenced by various poets throughout his career, including Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, and Elizabeth Bishop. His work often explores themes of family, love, and memory, reflecting his personal experiences and relationships. In 1980, Schultz published his first collection of poetry, "The Straight-away," which won the National Poetry Series Competition and established him as a promising new voice in American poetry. His second book, "Failure" (1990), was also well-received and won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The title poem from this collection is one of his most famous works, exploring the theme of failure and its role in personal growth and self-understanding. Schultz's other major works include "Later" (1998), a collection that deals with themes of aging, mortality, and the passing of time; and "The City in Which I Love You" (2016), which showcases his ability to capture the complexities and mysteries of urban life. In addition to his work as a poet, Schultz has taught at several universities, including Columbia University and New York University, where he served as the inaugural poet-in-residence. He is also the founder and director of the Writers Studio, a writing program that offers classes in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to students of all levels. Schultz continues to write and publish his work, earning critical acclaim for his lyrical and emotionally resonant poetry. His most recent collection, "Ishmael and Other Poems" (2019), further explores themes of family, love, and memory in a deeply moving and powerful way.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open."

This quote suggests that initial writing should be done in a private, introspective state where one can freely explore ideas without worrying about external judgment or perception. The "door closed" stage is for self-expression, creativity, and experimentation. Once satisfied with the work, the writer then opens the "door" to others - peers, editors, readers, etc., for feedback and revisions, refining and polishing the work until it's ready to be shared with a wider audience.

"Talent is a gift, but it takes hard work to make that gift a success."

This quote by Philip Schultz suggests that innate ability or talent (a gift) is not enough to achieve success; it requires hard work and effort to transform that potential into real, tangible outcomes. In essence, the message is that while raw talent provides an advantage, it's the dedicated application of effort and commitment that ultimately leads to success.

"The more you write, the better you will become."

This quote emphasizes the importance of practice in writing. The more time and effort one dedicates to writing, the greater their skill and ability in doing so will grow. It underscores that mastery in any art or craft requires consistent effort and dedication. Therefore, persistent writing is a key component for improvement in the realm of literature and communication.

"Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river."

This quote by Philip Schultz emphasizes the power of reading in developing one's writing skills. By reading a multitude of books, writers absorb various literary styles, techniques, and vocabulary, which in turn influences their own writing. The metaphor "words will flow like a river" signifies a fluidity and ease in the expression of thoughts, achieved through consistent reading and learning from others' works. In essence, Schultz suggests that reading widely is an essential part of honing one's writing craft.

"Don't wait for inspiration. Sit down at your desk and write."

The quote by Philip Schultz emphasizes the importance of discipline over inspiration in the creative process. It suggests that instead of waiting for a burst of creativity to strike, one should consistently put in the effort and sit down to write, thus fostering creativity through consistent practice rather than relying solely on occasional inspirational moments.

Repeating third grade at a new school, after having been asked to leave my old one for hitting kids who made fun of my perceived stupidity, I was placed in the 'dummy class.'

- Philip Schultz

Been, Placed, Hitting, Old One

Letter scrambling and trouble reading is just a small part of dyslexia. It is also an auditory processing problem.

- Philip Schultz

Reading, Small, Part, Small Part

My imagination was a great place to escape from all the anxiety and disapproval of my life... I had to live in my head... art was a way of making myself feel better.

- Philip Schultz

Art, My Life, Making, Disapproval

The word 'novel' carries, for me, a weight as ominous, all-consuming and unforgiving as any Job encountered.

- Philip Schultz

Me, Encountered, Carries, Ominous

Suddenly, I was reading these comics. I was looking at those bubbles, those dialogue bubbles, and suddenly there were words... recognizable words.

- Philip Schultz

Recognizable, Were, Comics, Bubbles

I never feel more alone than when I'm traveling. Alone and, to some extent, helpless. The world expects a certain level of competence and can be merciless when this expectation is unmet.

- Philip Schultz

Some, Level, Extent, Helpless

I was 17 when I decided to write stories as big as cathedrals, overflowing with the kind of memorable and audacious characters Walker Percy, Ernest Hemingway and Saul Bellow created.

- Philip Schultz

Big, Stories, Overflowing, Saul

Most people try to avoid cliches. It's my ambition in life to try to get 'em right!

- Philip Schultz

Ambition, Get, Most, Cliches

Art's power of persuasion resides in the small personal details of one's own story, and if it weren't for my struggle with dyslexia, I doubt I'd ever have become a writer or known how to teach others to write.

- Philip Schultz

Small, Own, Resides, Struggle

Being a poet, the advantages of dyslexia are many, affording me sensitivity to the musical nuances of language and the ability to juggle complicated ideas and narratives simultaneously.

- Philip Schultz

Narratives, Nuances, Musical, Sensitivity

When a child knows that he or she is dyslexic, that it's the way their brain is programmed, and it's not their fault, that makes all the difference in the world.

- Philip Schultz

Fault, Makes, He Or She, Dyslexic

I was well into middle age when one of my children, then in the second grade, was found to be dyslexic. I had never known the name for it, but I recognized immediately that the symptoms were also mine.

- Philip Schultz

Recognized, Had, Immediately, Dyslexic

I'm a painfully slow reader. And to this day, I mean, I love reading, and I'm very careful - very selective about what I read because I don't read very fast and, therefore, not a great deal.

- Philip Schultz

Love, Deal, Very, Painfully

I can't remember a time when I stepped into an airport or train station without wishing I were somewhere else, doing almost anything else. Just thinking about traveling gives me the willies. Traveling and dyslexia don't really get along.

- Philip Schultz

Doing, About, Almost, Almost Anything

If I get the idea, and I get some clarity on how I feel about that idea, then I can safely assume I'll find the right words. I do have that confidence.

- Philip Schultz

Confidence, Some, Idea, Assume

I know it sounds strange to say, but the very technologies that have made traveling easier for most people - GPS, automated ticket machines, online schedules and ticketing, boarding passes you can print out at home - have actually made things harder for me.

- Philip Schultz

Out, Very, Sounds, Automated

I come from a family of Russian immigrant Jews who were all big storytellers, who would get together, and one would try to top the others' stories, and stories would get bigger and bigger. And the lying aspect, the exaggeration, would get large.

- Philip Schultz

Get Together, Big, Would, Storytellers

I found many ways around my dyslexia, but I still have trouble transforming words into sounds. I have to memorize and rehearse before reading anything aloud to avoid embarrassing myself by mispronouncing words.

- Philip Schultz

Before, Still, Rehearse, Embarrassing

Dyslexia lends itself to original thinking, not rote formulas, because you can't do the formulas - you think up your own method based on intuition and instincts. Creativity is trial and error, trying to figure out a way to do something emotionally and intuitively.

- Philip Schultz

Own, Lends, Formulas, Instincts

I think I was 16 when I had the thought of maybe being a writer. And this is complicated, something I only now understand, because when I was young, having dyslexia and not knowing it made reading such an ordeal.

- Philip Schultz

Thought, Maybe, I Think, Not Knowing

I'd grown accustomed to seeing myself as someone who, if fallible and unworthy, had nevertheless managed to do one thing well enough to get recognition for it.

- Philip Schultz

Myself, Nevertheless, Well Enough

With my fiction, I focused on chapters and overall conceptions, while in poetry, I crawled along in the trenches of each sentence, examining every word for a sign of a deeper significance.

- Philip Schultz

Fiction, Sentence, Chapters, Trenches

I didn't learn how to read until I was at the end of fifth grade and 11 years old and held back.

- Philip Schultz

Learn, Read, Held, Fifth

There is a gap in my work from '84 to 2002, 18 years where I stopped writing. I was working at fiction and other things and starting a school and getting married and starting a family, but I wasn't writing poetry for the better part of 15 years.

- Philip Schultz

Other, Fiction, Part, Starting

As a poet and a teacher, I read all the time. I know I read slowly. I like reading, but I don't read any more than I have to.

- Philip Schultz

More, Like, Read, Slowly

I write slowly, and I write many, many drafts. I probably have to work as hard as anyone, and maybe harder, to finish a poem. I often write a poem over years, because it takes me a long time to figure out what to say and how best to say it.

- Philip Schultz

Best, Maybe, I Write, Slowly

I do think that there is a profound reservoir of creativity and imagination in everyone I've ever met, and sometimes if someone is persistent and perversely obstinate enough to persevere, then they want to be helped. There is a way to help them.

- Philip Schultz

Think, Persevere, Obstinate, Persistent

I have to often read the same sentence over and over before I understand it. And I have to convince myself that what I'm reading is so enjoyable and so exciting and so good for me that it's worth the effort.

- Philip Schultz

Sentence, Over, Read, Enjoyable

Failure has been the great theme of my life, I think.

- Philip Schultz

My Life, Think, Been, Theme

I think one's relationship with one's vulnerability is a very delicate and precious relationship. Most people try to hide, disguise that vulnerability, and in doing that, you, I think, diminish a great source of power.

- Philip Schultz

Think, Delicate, Very, Diminish

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