Justin Kaplan Quotes

We speak a language that draws on quotations.  They are telegraphic, a form of shorthand.  We use them to lend point and luster to what we say.

quotations

We use quotations, like the Biblical Shibboleth, as passwords and secret handshakes, socially strategic signals that say, "I understand you.  We speak the same language."

quotations

How like an eel this essay creature is.  It wriggles between narcissism and detachment, opinion and fact, the private party and the public meeting, omphalos and brain, analysis and polemics, confession and reportage, persuasion and provocation.

essays