A Ritual to Read to Each Other


If you don’t know the kind of person I am
and...
WILLIAM STAFFORD One way to find your place is likethe rain, a million requestsfor lodging, one that wins, findsyour ...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I think language does bring us together. Fragile and misleading as it is, it's the best communicatio...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Let the bucket of memory down into the well,
bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No one
stirrin...
WILLIAM STAFFORD The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But i...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music
WILLIAM STAFFORD . . . You were aimed from birth:you will never be alone. Rainwill come, a gutter filled, an Amazon,l...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I have woven a parachute out of everything broken.
WILLIAM STAFFORD The more you let yourself be distracted from where you are going, the more you are the person that y...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I keep following this sort of hidden river of my life, you know, whatever the topic or impulse which...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I embrace emerging experience.I participate in discovery.I am a butterfly.I am not a butterfly colle...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Even the upper end of the riverbelieves in the ocean.
WILLIAM STAFFORD You and I can turn and lookat the silent river and wait. We knowthe current is there, hidden; and th...
WILLIAM STAFFORD "It's love," they say. You touchthe right one and a whole half of the universewakes up, a new half.
WILLIAM STAFFORD The ocean and I have many pebblesTo find and wash off and roll into shape.
WILLIAM STAFFORD Wisdom is having things right in your life
and knowing why.
WILLIAM STAFFORD If it should happen you wake up and Armageddon has come, lie still.
WILLIAM STAFFORD My name is William Tell:when little oppressions touch mearrows hidden in my cloakwhisper, "Ready, re...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I just kept on doing what everyone starts out doing. The real question is, why did other people stop...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I am a person a dictionary-maker has to contend with. I am a living evidence in the development of l...
WILLIAM STAFFORD These words that occur to me come out of my relation to the language which is developing even as I a...
WILLIAM STAFFORD It is as if the ordinary language we use every day has a hidden set of signals; a kind of secret cod...
WILLIAM STAFFORD If you have things right in your lifebut do not know why,you are just lucky, and you will not movein...
WILLIAM STAFFORD You can't tell when strange things with meaningwill happen. I'm [still] here writing it downjust the...
WILLIAM STAFFORD I call it cruel and maybe the root of all crueltyto know what occurs but not recognize the fact.
WILLIAM STAFFORD We are led one thing at a time to that pure gain -- all that we lose.
WILLIAM STAFFORD Will you ever bring a better gift for the worldthan the breathing respect that you carrywherever you...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Our Father Who art in Heavencan lick their Father Who art in Heaven.
WILLIAM STAFFORD For it is important that awake people be awake,or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Leave sound in an emptyhouse in its own room there. . . .
WILLIAM STAFFORD Shelter in winter that day --a storm coming, but in the leeof an island in a cover with friends --oh...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Well, it was yesterday. And the sun came,WhyIt came.
WILLIAM STAFFORD It is time for all the heroes to go homeif they have any, time for all of us common onesto locate ou...
WILLIAM STAFFORD All right. I listen. My life sinks a littlefarther, for the pity; from now on I know itwith them. We...
WILLIAM STAFFORD And sometimes when they look in the firethey see time going on and someone alone,but they don't say ...
WILLIAM STAFFORD And all the time it's your own story, even when you think -- "It's all just made up, a trick. What i...
WILLIAM STAFFORD You happy beings, watch every face for thoseyou pass caught in the midst of lifeby some horror, thei...
WILLIAM STAFFORD The world speaks everything to us.It is our only friend.
WILLIAM STAFFORD Next time what I'd do is look atthe earth before saying anything. I'd stopjust before going into a h...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Willows never forget how it feelsto be young.Do you remember where you came from?
WILLIAM STAFFORD At noon in the desert a panting lizardwaited for history, its elbows tense,watching the curve of a p...
WILLIAM STAFFORD So, the world happens twice --once what we see it as;second it legends itselfdeep, the way it is.
WILLIAM STAFFORD The saddest are those not right in their liveswho are acting to make things right for others:they ac...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Silence on a hill where the path endedand then the forest belowmoving in one long whisperas evening ...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Poetry is the kind of thing you have to see from the corner of your eye. You can be too well prepare...
WILLIAM STAFFORD They tell how it was, and how timecame along, and how it happenedagain and again. They tellthe slant...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Let the bucket of memory down into the well,bring it up. Cool, cool minutes. No onestirring, no plan...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Security of character would be like a compass, you know? Other people may say that this way is north...
WILLIAM STAFFORD What can anyone give you greater than now,starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
WILLIAM STAFFORD You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.
WILLIAM STAFFORD A great snug wall goes around everything,has always been there, will alwaysremain. It is a good worl...
WILLIAM STAFFORD When I dream at night, they save a place for me,no matter how small, somewhere by the fire.
WILLIAM STAFFORD If you don't know the kind of person I amand I don't know the kind of person you area pattern that o...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Wisdom is having things right in your lifeand knowing why.
WILLIAM STAFFORD They miss the whisper that runsany day in your mind,"Who are you really, wanderer?"and the answer yo...
WILLIAM STAFFORD A writer is not so much someone who has something to say as he is someone who has found a process th...
WILLIAM STAFFORD Some time when the river is ice ask memistakes I have made. Ask me whetherwhat I have done is my lif...
WILLIAM STAFFORD They miss the whisper that runs
any day in your mind,
"Who are you really, wanderer?"-- WILLIAM STAFFORD No one will expect the British Government or the Government of India to give way to threats of viole...
STAFFORD CRIPPS Gandhi has asked that the British Government should walk out of India and leave the Indian people to...
STAFFORD CRIPPS Jealousy, that diseased crow pecking at your heart.
STEWART STAFFORD Violent statements and threats cannot provide a solution to the problem. They can only exacerbate fe...
STAFFORD CRIPPS Many hard comments have been made on my efforts in India from the side of the Congress party, yet I ...
STAFFORD CRIPPS If you are out there, you have fans. You have a champion. Organize these champions. You probably kno...
JAMISON STAFFORD We ask the great masses of India to be patient a short time longer, while the cause of freedom is be...
STAFFORD CRIPPS As a football team, you head into the season the same way with confidence and a positive mindset tha...
MATTHEW STAFFORD I really like 'Gladiator.' I like 'The Dark Knight.' I really liked, when I was a ki...
MATTHEW STAFFORD When it gets hot, it gets bad quicker because you've got all these living plants not only using wate...
CARL STAFFORD The Young and the Restless
MICHELLE STAFFORD Be suspicious of the litigious.
STEWART STAFFORD It is not yet too late for the Indian people to decide on rapid, ordered progress. I can assure them...
STAFFORD CRIPPS Julius Peppers is probably 6'7 and 300 pounds. The great players spend all year round training f...
MATTHEW STAFFORD Allegany County Transit is excited about moving into the area of automated scheduling and feels that...
JIM STAFFORD I am growing meaner by the hour.
JEAN STAFFORD Selfishness is easy to find. Selflessness is a much rarer beast.
STEWART STAFFORD Tony Cox, still a painter and not yet married to Yoko Ono, pioneered in the use of mescaline for dra...
PETER STAFFORD From time to time, I need a rest from the exercitation of my intellect.
JEAN STAFFORD She did observe, with some dismay, that far from conquering all, love lazily sidestepped practical p...
JEAN STAFFORD . . . as she moved from table to table, endeavoring to understand the [gambling] games, she realized...
JEAN STAFFORD A small silence came between us, as precise as a picture hanging on the wall.
JEAN STAFFORD The world is a pile of grunge.
JO STAFFORD Aspirin use is much less frequent than we expected.
RANDALL STAFFORD All the nurturing is being done to reach that point. There are building blocks we must use. If we?re...
PHIL STAFFORD It's maybe more irony than anything else.
RANDY STAFFORD If your written words become literal nails to crucify you with, then you have done your job well. Yo...
STEWART STAFFORD That's been the biggest one, just since he's a Cardinal pitcher and he's a local guy and actually in...
DEREK STAFFORD Nurturing a child’s sense of personal worth and therefore hope and dreams for a wonderful future i...
WESS STAFFORD Science Fiction is a safe, fertile arena in which to rehearse the potential scientific facts of tomo...
STEWART STAFFORD A church begins to die when it says, ‘They were just children.
WESS STAFFORD Non-alcoholic ways in which parents may not 'be there' for the children can include:
- violenc...
DAVID STAFFORD Faith is blind belief. Atheism is blind disbelief. No one has all the information needed to take up ...
STEWART STAFFORD Beware the self-righteous man, for he will destroy the world many times over before he sees his foll...
STEWART STAFFORD We're protecting the crap out of me and it's really showing. Being able to get back there and make s...
SHANE STAFFORD I spend half my time comforting the afflicated, and the other half afflicting the comfortable.
WESS STAFFORD If you ever feel the person in your life needs rescuing, particularly from him or herself - beware. ...
DAVID STAFFORD Fast-forward to 2000, and Toyota and Honda are making cars here. China's in the same place on the cu...
BILL STAFFORD All these guys I've toured and recorded with, they want to come down here once in a while when we ha...
BILL STAFFORD If China decides to start investing in the United States and bringing some manufacturing over here, ...
BILL STAFFORD (My bounded brain was as) unalterable as a ball.
JEAN STAFFORD I worked with AXE Hair to do a promo shoot for the ESPYs and ESPN - it's all about having girl-a...
MATTHEW STAFFORD The most important thing is water to drink. We look around and see plenty of water, but it's got to ...
CARL STAFFORD For even in the pit of darkness, the beacon of humanity can always shine through.
STEWART STAFFORD No one remembers how you got a chance, they only remember what you did with it.
STEWART STAFFORD Life is an endless trial and death its certain verdict, but there are many recesses to enjoy before ...
STEWART STAFFORD By switching back and forth between English and Spanish while filling out the application, the custo...
DAVE STAFFORD Perfection is an illusion. Yet perfectionists demand it from others while being far from flawless th...
STEWART STAFFORD Some writers say they find the writing process lonely. I don't. Yes, it's solitary but when you can ...
STEWART STAFFORD Human knowledge is but a ripple on the water's surface. To go deeper, we must accept the fact that w...
STEWART STAFFORD Applying logic to potentially illogical behaviour is to construct a house on shifting foundations. T...
STEWART STAFFORD It's a shame. Something like this can happen just that quickly. Kids could have been out here. I hav...
DENNIS STAFFORD The choice to open the contest in March wasn't deliberate but, when we considered the timing with Sm...
DEREK STAFFORD He comes out every day. He comes out just like we do. He's just trying to get better.
DEREK STAFFORD Just for the guys to see what it takes to move on, and also that he's a regular guy. It's not like h...
DEREK STAFFORD We've been having pro guys come out left and right. It's been awesome. Since November, we've had at ...
DEREK STAFFORD It speaks to how far we've come as a medium that it's important enough to run it first on the Intern...
ELIZABETH STAFFORD If an artist can occupy the void of artistry while simultaneously parodying its iconography, they ca...
STEWART STAFFORD To me, Gothic fiction is the literary representation of the stormy gloom of the British Isles.
STEWART STAFFORD The bravest thing David Bowie ever did was to go on stage after Queen at Live Aid.
STEWART STAFFORD If you turn a blind eye to the world now, history will turn a blind eye to you later. Ignoring an is...
STEWART STAFFORD The sum of the parts will trade higher.
CRAIG STAFFORD We think there are a number of specialist infrastructure funds being set up.
CRAIG STAFFORD This is such a great idea. There's the whole sense of family here. The volunteer fire force deserves...
DAVE STAFFORD At each stage of life, insurance costs tend to go down - to the insurance companies, older and more ...
DAVE STAFFORD You need to make a decision - are you are an imitator or an innovator?
STEWART STAFFORD The Lord blesses us so we can bless others.
HARRY STAFFORD We have to start getting breakfast ready at 5:30 and then we finish at eight at night.
HARRY STAFFORD I think when they got out to an early lead it was tough for us to get back on track, but we did. We ...
DREW STAFFORD It's a big event, obviously, and a lot of people are going to be watching it. It will be kind of coo...
DREW STAFFORD I remember when I was first committing here we saw that the Frozen Four was going to be in Milwaukee...
DREW STAFFORD I was just one of those little guys out there playing. And it's pretty cool to remember that. I was ...
DREW STAFFORD Duluth caught us at a bad time because we're fighting for a playoff spot and we're hungry. And we al...
DREW STAFFORD We came back strong and it was tough. We made it close, and like coach said, we have a lot of heart.
DREW STAFFORD There wasn't much to say. It's almost becoming a broken record for us.
DREW STAFFORD I don't know what to say about that, I've never seen that before.
DREW STAFFORD Welcome those who question your beliefs, for it is an opportunity to reinforce them. If your beliefs...
STEWART STAFFORD The possible is just the impossible that we've come to accept,
STEWART STAFFORD Everybody needs a fitted shirt. A fitted white shirt is universally flattering.
JACQUI STAFFORD The key to style is not following fashion trends. It is about making your style your own and being a...
JACQUI STAFFORD He just made it more personal caring about (Matt). He just was very impressed, felt like the school ...
MARGARET STAFFORD It was very stressful for him. It was great the attention that he got, but I think that it would've ...
MARGARET STAFFORD It was not like taking a Texas boy who bleeds burnt orange to the Southeast.
MARGARET STAFFORD People will come to test and divide us, but, as long as we keep compassion in our hearts for others,...
STEWART STAFFORD We always try to advocate a mix of natural and agricultural foods. These birds have lived in an agri...
JOSH STAFFORD You know how much food there is (at a particular site). You know how much energy there is. You know ...
JOSH STAFFORD There was never anything like it before in history. It was a different kind of joyous, happy screami...
JO STAFFORD I never thought about 'Who is Jo Stafford?' She just is. Jo Stafford is a lot of different people. S...
JO STAFFORD The pandemonium was in full swing.
JO STAFFORD You knew after eight bars that you were hearing something just absolutely new and unique.
JO STAFFORD There is the assumption that the medications are so good, it obviates the need for counseling.
RANDALL STAFFORD She always had kind words for others and a huge bear hug that made you feel warm and loved.
RACHEL STAFFORD The whole NewsWeb operation -- the production and manufacturing process, sales and customer service ...
ROBERT STAFFORD I've always been a fan of the SEC, ACC, down south. I never was a real big fan of Texas. It's not th...
MATTHEW STAFFORD It's pretty cool, but it's only one win. It's not like 400 yards equals four wins. I wish it did bec...
SHANE STAFFORD We absolutely must battle with every bit of determination we can muster to root out the harm that wo...
WESS STAFFORD Find a need and fill it.
RUTH STAFFORD PEALE If we become an accomplice to criminal activities by the American government, then we are liable too...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH As far as their reasons for hunger striking, it seems to be a myriad of different reasons that they ...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH Autumn in the country advances in a predictable path, taking its place among the unyielding rhythms ...
ARLENE STAFFORD-WILSON People are desperate. They have been there three years. They were promised that the Geneva Conventio...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH This is the court of public opinion -- the idea is to educate the folks in the House of Commons on w...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH The bottom line is, we're in a place that actually has a rule of law. The British government is mand...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH He was twice as old as when they sentenced him to die, and he certainly wasn't the same person that ...
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH Untold love is like falling stars , always fall but never reach
WILLIAM The more you stab , the more i step
WILLIAM Time moves in one direction, memory in another.
WILLIAM GIBSON We'll sort of get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But obviously we want...
PRINCE WILLIAM One challenge to the arts in America is the need to make the arts, especially the classic masterpiec...
WILLIAM SAFIRE You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.
WILLIAM BLAKE Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common ha...
WILLIAM JAMES Sex is a natural function. You can't make it happen, but you can teach people to let it happen.
WILLIAM MASTERS The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE To be, or not to be, that is the question.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is Manifest Destiny.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY I don't remember being taught to read, and by the time I was seven years old, I had read a very ...
WILLIAM MORRIS I can't enter into politico-social subjects with any interest, for on the whole, I see that thin...
WILLIAM MORRIS It is right and necessary that all should have work to do which shall be worth doing and be of itsel...
WILLIAM MORRIS Happy as we are, times may alter; we may be bitten with some impulse towards change, and many things...
WILLIAM MORRIS I am going, if I can, to be an architect, and I am too old already, and there is no time to lose.
WILLIAM MORRIS We are living in a epoch where there is combat between commercialism, or the system of reckless wast...
WILLIAM MORRIS To do nothing but grumble and not to act - that is throwing away one's life.
WILLIAM MORRIS Apart from the desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion of my life has been and is ha...
WILLIAM MORRIS It took me years to understand that words are often as important as experience, because words make e...
WILLIAM MORRIS If you cannot learn to love real art, at least learn to hate sham art and reject it.
WILLIAM MORRIS I want a real revolution, a real change in society: society, a great organic mass of well-regulated ...
WILLIAM MORRIS The reward of labour is life. Is that not enough?
WILLIAM MORRIS A man at work, making something which he feels will exist because he is working at it and wills it, ...
WILLIAM MORRIS The past is not dead, it is living in us, and will be alive in the future which we are now helping t...
WILLIAM MORRIS Not on one strand are all life's jewels strung.
WILLIAM MORRIS No man is good enough to be another's master.
WILLIAM MORRIS I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.
WILLIAM MORRIS Give me love and work - these two only.
WILLIAM MORRIS 'Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Lord, Lord, how subject we old men are to this vice of lying!
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Life every man holds dear; but the dear man holds honor far more precious dear than life.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE There is no darkness but ignorance.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE To do a great right do a little wrong.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Listen to many, speak to a few.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE This above all; to thine own self be true.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE