81 Quotes by Louis Menand

Literature is being taught as though it were only political medicine or political poison-a view that is not only illiberal but illiterate.

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. Never, btw, ask that androgynous paper clip anything. S/he is just a stooge for management, leading you down more rabbit holes of options for things called Wizards, Macros, Templates, and Cascading Style Sheets.

Just in higher education alone, more people go to college now, by enormous amounts, than went to college in the '50's and '60's. So that represents a whole new literate public that's a consumer of literature, of news, of print, of, you know, opinion. And that's a bigger audience and much more diverse audience than it used to be.

It’s all in the genes”: an explanation for the way things are that does not threaten the way things are. Why should someone feel unhappy or engage in antisocial behavior when that person is living in the freest and most prosperous nation on earth? It can’t be the system! There must be a flaw in the wiring somewhere.

We have much wisdom to gain by learning to understand other people's cultures and permitting ourselves to accept that there is more than one version of reality.

Quotable quotes are coins rubbed smooth by circulation.

I think in general there’s no point in going into a field like English literature if you’re not going to have fun with it.

Basically what you want in any profession – I would say the same thing if I were a lawyer or a doctor – is you want bright undergraduates to look at your profession as something they would be interested in getting into.

I don’t think the same curriculum fits every student body.