139 Quotes by Harvey Pekar

I like to go back over history and check out what people have written and whether I agree with it or not.

I have to be a freelance writer for the rest of my life, unless I get some kind of real lucky break. But other than that, I'll always have to work. I always worry about whether my stuff is going to get over. Will they like this, will they like that?

I guess there's an element of self-loathing there,

If there is something to worry about, my mind has a tendency to worry about it. That can cut two ways. It can really keep you on the ball, but if you worry about every little thing, it's not a good use of time and energy.

I always wanted praise, and I always wanted attention; I won't lie to you. I was a jazz critic, and that wasn't good enough for me. I wanted people to write about me, not me about them. So I thought, 'What could I do? I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't act or anything like that. OK, I can write.'

People who are readers of fiction aren't particularly interested in comic books.

It's the stuff that happens right in front of your face when there's no routine and everything is unexpected. That's what I want to write about.

Every ethnic group thinks they are the chosen ones. …

I wanted to write literature that pushed people into their lives rather than helping people escape from them.