Italian - Novelist | January 5, 1932 - February 19, 2016
We are never racist against somebody who is very far away. I don't know any racism against the Eskimos. To have a racist feeling, there must be an other who is slightly different from us - but is living close to us.
Umberto Eco
RacismFeelingFar AwayKnowLiving
One can be a great poet and be politically stupid.
GreatStupidPoetPolitically
I was a fervent Catholic, and I belonged to the national organizations, even becoming one of the national leaders, until the age of 21, 22.
AgeBecomingLeadersEvenUntil
Semiotics is a general theory of all existing languages... all forms of communication - visual, tactile, and so on... There is general semiotics, which is a philosophical approach to this field, and then there are many specific semiotics.
CommunicationTheoryVisualApproach
There are more books in the world than hours in which to read them. We are thus deeply influenced by books we haven't read, that we haven't had the time to read.
TimeWorldMoreBooksHoursThan
I have to admit that I only read 'War and Peace' when I was 40. But I knew the basics before then.
PeaceWarAdmitBasicsOnlyKnew
There are books on our shelves we haven't read and doubtless never will, that each of us has probably put to one side in the belief that we will read them later on, perhaps even in another life.
LifeWillBeliefNeverSideUs
The thought that all experience will be lost at the moment of my death makes me feel pain and fear... What a waste, decades spent building up experience, only to throw it all away... We remedy this sadness by working. For example, by writing, painting, or building cities.
FearMomentExperienceDeathPain
Certainly, light fiction exists and encompasses mysteries or second-class romance novels, books that are read on the beach, whose only aim is to entertain. These books are not concerned with style or creativity - instead they are successful because they are repetitive and follow a template that readers enjoy.
StyleLightBeachCreativityEnjoy
It is sometimes hard to grasp the difference between identifying with one's own roots, understanding people with other roots, and judging what is good or bad.
GoodPeopleRootsUnderstandingBad
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