— Anne Carson, “The Glass Essay”, From Glass, Irony And God

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”

— Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Sarah Kay, from “And Found”, No Matter the Wreckage

“Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. But tell me, tell me, how do you know he lost any of his brightness in the falling?” - D.H. Lawrence, Lucifer

To do? I don’t want to do anything. I want to be everything.

Peter Ackroyd, The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (via the-book-diaries)

449. Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss (1777) - Antonio Canova, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Isn’t giving up allowed sometimes? Isn’t it okay to say, ‘This really hurts, so I’m going to stop trying?’ ‘It sets a dangerous precedent.’ ‘For avoiding pain?’ ‘For avoiding life.’

Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl (via the-book-diaries)

“I’m not afraid of dying. Pieces of me die all the time.”

— Sage Francis

“I have clawed my way to okay and it will just have to do for now.”

— Rachel Wiley, from Nothing is Okay

Pablo Neruda, tr. by Mark Eisner, "One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII", The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems

“I’ve polished this anger and now it’s a knife.”

— Cathy Linh Che, from “Go Forget Your Father,” published in Poetry  (via funeral)