Quotes by Antonio Tabucchi

About Antonio Tabucchi:

Antonio Tabucchi was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Un luogo non è mai solo “quel” luogo: quel luogo siamo un po’ anche noi. In qualche modo, senza saperlo, ce lo portavamo dentro e un giorno, per caso, ci siamo arrivati.

Antonio Tabucchi

I live quietly at home among my family and friends.

Antonio Tabucchi

I vividly remember the stories my grandfather told me about the carnage of the First World War, which people tend to forget was one of the worst massacres in human history.

Antonio Tabucchi

Literature for me isn't a workaday job, but something which involves desires, dreams and fantasy.

Antonio Tabucchi

Like a blazing comet, I've traversed infinite nights, interstellar spaces of the imagination, voluptuousness and fear.

Antonio Tabucchi

Literature is my life of course, but from an ontological point of view. From an existential point of view, I like being a teacher.

Antonio Tabucchi

People with lots of doubts sometimes find life more oppressive and exhausting than others, but they're more energetic - they aren't robots.

Antonio Tabucchi

We all want to be someone else but without ceasing to be ourselves. I think it's very important to defend this idea in real life too.

Antonio Tabucchi

No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job.

Antonio Tabucchi

But democracy isn't a state of perfection. It has to be improved, and that means constant vigilance.

Antonio Tabucchi

But I don't think I have any particular talent for prediction, because when you have three or four elements in hand, you don't have to be a genius to reach certain conclusions.

Antonio Tabucchi

Doubts are like stains on a shirt. I like shirts with stains, because when I'm given a shirt that's too clean, one that's completely white, I immediately start having doubts.

Antonio Tabucchi

Eco sees the intellectual as an organizer of culture, someone who can run a magazine or a museum. An administrator, in fact. I think this is a melancholy situation for an intellectual.

Antonio Tabucchi

I claim the right to take a stand once in a while.

Antonio Tabucchi

I don't go for people who lead full and satisfying lives.

Antonio Tabucchi

I don't have any doubts either about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps some more should be added to the list, but I don't have the slightest doubt about human rights.

Antonio Tabucchi

I don't know whether these people are going to find themselves, but as they live their lives they have no choice but to face up to the image others have of them. They're forced to look at themselves in a mirror, and they often manage to glimpse somet...

Antonio Tabucchi

I prefer insomnia to anaesthesia.

Antonio Tabucchi

It's the job of intellectuals and writers to cast doubt on perfection.

Antonio Tabucchi

It's very useful when politicians have doubts because there are so many choices to be made in the world.

Antonio Tabucchi

Author Bio

  • NameAntonio Tabucchi
  • DescriptionWriter and literary scholar
  • BornSeptember 24, 1943
  • DiedMarch 25, 2012
  • CountryItaly
  • ProfessionWriter; Journalist; Translator
  • AwardsAustrian State Prize For European Literature; Commander Of The Order Of Prince Henry