I'm not sure why working at a homeless shelter made sense to me, except that I needed to immerse myself in some sort of larger real-life situation to get me out of the cage of my mind, in some ways. Nick Flynn cagehomelessimmerse Change image and share on social
In life you get one take, and it's perfect. It's strange, afterwards you might think I shouldn't have reacted that way, but that's the way you reacted. That's your take; that's all you get. Nick Flynn lifeperfectreact Change image and share on social
I became an electrician after high school. But I always had this thing in me to write. But it was always a little shameful. To say you were a poet was saying you were kind of crazy, and I carried that around for a long time. I still kind of carry that. And I think it might be true, actually. Nick Flynn carrycrazyelectrician share on social
That Dick Cheney is pro-torture surprises no one; he freely admits it. Nick Flynn admitcheneydick Change image and share on social
The only strategy I know of is to write every day, which I don't always do, because sometimes I just can't, for various reasons that seem out of my control. Nick Flynn controldayreason Change image and share on social
Here's a secret: Everyone, if they live long enough, will lose their way at some point. You will lose your way; you will wake up one morning and find yourself lost. This is a hard, simple truth. Nick Flynn findhardlive Change image and share on social
I believe poetry has very little to do with memory. Nick Flynn memorypoetry Change image and share on social
It takes an entire book to tell you what it was like. To see Robert De Niro play your father - it's not a simple answer. To see Julianne Moore play your mother. To see Paul Dano play you - that's an even more inscrutable question... he's amazing, he's totally amazing, but I can't really say if he's a good me or not. Nick Flynn amazeanswerbook share on social
That soldiers do terrible things during wartime should not surprise us. Nick Flynn soldiersurpriseterrible Change image and share on social
I'd always imagined that one day I would be a father, but mostly it was off my radar. I admired friends who had somehow figured out how to cross that threshold. Nick Flynn admirecrossday Change image and share on social