To read a novel or see a play was to drink life through a s… - Quentin Crisp

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To read a novel or see a play was to drink life through a straw — to smoke it through a filter-tip. If we were not afraid of blackening our teeth or riddling our lungs with cancer — if we were a dauntless race of men with strong digestions — we would be able to devour life without the aid of these over-civilized devices.

Quentin Crisp

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English

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About Quentin Crisp

Quentin Crisp (December 25, 1908 – November 21, 1999), born Denis Charles Pratt, was an English writer, artist's model, actor and raconteur who was known for his memorable and insightful witticisms. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, brought to the attention of the general public his defiant exhibitionism and longstanding refusal to conceal his homosexuality.

Also Known As

Birth Name: Denis Charles Pratt

Alternative Names: Daniel Pratt

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The low dive had set a standard that only middle-aged hooligans could remember and to which they looked back as Mrs Lot at Sodom.

He explained to me that he wanted a simple boy-meets-girl story with lyrics. This I felt was quite beyond my capabilities. I did not know any boys who met girls.

I take it to be axiomatic that people are revolted by witnessing the shameless gratification of an appetite they do not share.

To read a novel or see a play was to drink life through a straw — to smoke it through a filter-tip. If we were not afraid of blackening our teeth or … - Quentin Crisp

About Quentin Crisp

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