April 23, 2007

“A good writer is the best thief”

Filed under: General,Literature,Religion by Branko Collin @ 12:33 am

glasses.jpgChristian daily Trouw (translates to ‘loyal’) has an interview with Flemish writer Tom Lanoye where they have him respond to the ten commandments. About “thou shalt not steal” he says:

In my profession theft is a tribute. A good writer is the best thief. A bad writer steals from the wrong people, or not at all. A bad writer thinks he knows it all already. You have to keep rolling around in all sorts of literary beds. Carnivorous, omnivorous, vegetarian, anything! Everything can be an inspiration.

(Link: interview in Dutch. Via Eamelje, Dutch. Photo by Frank C. Müller, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 Germany.)

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