Ian Frazier Quotes

• Siberia is so big, it’s almost more an idea than a place

  Ian Frazier

  Ideas, Siberia, Bigs

  46 Copy quote

• Every once in a while, people need to be in the presence of things that are really far away.

  Ian Frazier

  People, Needs, Far Away

  "Bridge" by Ian Frazier, www.newyorker.com. February 28, 2011.

  15 Copy quote

• There's an idea of the Plains as the middle of nowhere, something to be contemptuous of. But it's really a heroic place.

  Ian Frazier

  Ideas, Middle Of Nowhere, Heroic

  7 Copy quote

• Words are charms. It's like a song you didn't even know you knew.

  Ian Frazier

  Song, Charm, Knows

  4 Copy quote

• Human connection is the way things work. It's like a patronage system. You know somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows somebody, and he knows the district governor, and it's okay.

  Ian Frazier

  Connections, Way, Human Connection

  5 Copy quote

• People in Russia adapt to misery by a deep, deep humor.

  Ian Frazier

  Russia, People, Misery

  "Dispatch From Siberia: The Ian Frazier Interview". Interview with David Coggins, www.huffingtonpost.com. November 2, 2010.

  13 Copy quote

• Cursing dads are terrifying, you know? Cursing dads are - I don't know why, but no. It just doesn't seem to me that that would be funny. I mean it might be - you could try it and see. I suppose anybody just losing it and sputtering curses is pretty funny. But I think it would be more of a challenge, much more of a challenge, to make a cursing dad funny.

  Ian Frazier

  Dad, Mean, Thinking

  4 Copy quote

• America can enjoy a vital, fully functioning government, with all the benefits provided by Texas, while reducing Texas at the same time.

  Ian Frazier

  Government, Texas, America

  "On Texas" by Ian Frazier, www.newyorker.com. March 24, 2014.

  4 Copy quote

• When I needed to think or was really upset, generally I climbed a tree.

  Ian Frazier

  Thinking, Tree, Upset

  "Tilting at Tree Bags" by Ian Frazier, www.motherjones.com. January 2001.

  4 Copy quote

• Roy Blount is so funny, and he sounds like he's just talking, and the next thing you know he has tossed off
  an essay as elegant and intricately structured as a birdsong. His ear for American speech is better than anybody's.

  Ian Frazier

  Talking, Sound, Ears

  4 Copy quote

• I only saw one English-speaking person all the way across Siberia.

  Ian Frazier

  Way, Saws, Siberia

  "Dispatch From Siberia: The Ian Frazier Interview". Interview with David Coggins, www.huffingtonpost.com. November 2, 2010.

  4 Copy quote

• I don't have a disregard for my reader in humor pieces.

  Ian Frazier

  Pieces, Disregard, Reader

  4 Copy quote

• When the days start to get shorter, I want to be in some nice brick building on the East Coast with the lights glowing in the windows. When the daylight starts changing, I want to be out West.

  Ian Frazier

  Nice, Light, Glowing

  17 Copy quote

• Everything in Russia is made of cement - phone booths, fence posts and light bulbs.

  Ian Frazier

  Russia, Phones, Light

  6 Copy quote

• A book tour is not a good opportunity to let your mind wander. You have to pay attention, remember salespeople's and interviewers' names, succinctly summarize your book in a 'selling' way, and so on.

  Ian Frazier

  Book, Opportunity, Names

  4 Copy quote

• Russian humor is to adapt or make some sense or nonsense out of the insanity of their lives.

  Ian Frazier

  Insanity, Nonsense

  5 Copy quote

• I don't want to collect Indian art, though pots and beadwork and blankets made by Indians remain the most beautiful art objects in the American West, in my opinion.

  Ian Frazier

  Beautiful, Art, American West

  Ian Frazier (2000). “On the Rez”, p.4, Macmillan

  4 Copy quote

• I don't want to participate in traditional Indian religious ceremonies - dance in a sun dance or pray in a sweat lodge or go on a vision quest with the help of a medicine man. The power of these ceremonies has an appeal, but I'm content with what little religion I already have.

  Ian Frazier

  Religious, Men, Medicine

  Ian Frazier (2000). “On the Rez”, p.4, Macmillan

  4 Copy quote

• Russians don't complain, usually.

  Ian Frazier

  Complaining

  5 Copy quote

• I am an author, and like many in my profession, I am also a traveling salesman, going all over in an attempt to persuade people to spend twenty-five dollars on a hardcover book by me.

  Ian Frazier

  Book, People, Twenties

  4 Copy quote

• Leading economists have shown that by shrinking Texas, we can actually create more income for Texas in the long run.

  Ian Frazier

  Running, Texas, Long

  "On Texas" by Ian Frazier, www.newyorker.com. March 24, 2014.

  4 Copy quote

• Despite the obvious benefits, many Americans do not like Texas. Some even say they despise Texas, and make no secret of their feelings.

  Ian Frazier

  Texas, Feelings, Secret

  "On Texas" by Ian Frazier, www.newyorker.com. March 24, 2014.

  4 Copy quote

• I think what is important for things to be funny is if you the listener, or the reader, get a chance to supply the humor of it yourself.

  Ian Frazier

  Thinking, Important, Chance

  4 Copy quote

• Sometimes travel is merely an opportunity taken when you can.

  Ian Frazier

  Taken, Opportunity, Sometimes

  Ian Frazier (2010). “Travels in Siberia”, p.147, Macmillan

  4 Copy quote

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