Top 98 Quotes by Phil Klay

About Phil Klay

These are some quotes by American author Phil Klay Writer, who was born in 1983.

We're so used to using military terminology in civilian speech that we forget those terms might mean something very specific.

We're so used to using military terminology in civilian speech that we forget those terms might mean something very specific.

Phil Klay

I have two friends named Matt. They're both scouts in the cavalry. They both served in the same section of Iraq. They both worked with the same Iraqi translator. And yet, if you talk to them, their stories couldn't be more different, because one was there in 2006. One was there in 2008.

Phil Klay

The notion that war forever separates veterans from the rest of mankind has been long embedded in our collective consciousness.

The notion that war forever separates veterans from the rest of mankind has been long embedded in our collective consciousness.

Phil Klay

I went straight from the Marine Corps to the MFA. The way that you would express things among Marines is somewhat different than the way you're supposed to express things in a creative-writing workshop.

Phil Klay

The civilian wants to respect what the veteran has gone through. The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment.

The civilian wants to respect what the veteran has gone through. The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment.

Phil Klay

The Iraq I returned from was, in my mind, a fairly simple place. By which I mean it had little relationship to reality. It's only with time and the help of smart, empathetic friends willing to pull through many serious conversations that I've been able to learn more about what I witnessed.

Phil Klay

At least for me, writing a book is continual exposure to blind spots. There were things I wanted to be true and wanted to believe, but it always got more complicated in the fiction.

At least for me, writing a book is continual exposure to blind spots. There were things I wanted to be true and wanted to believe, but it always got more complicated in the fiction.

Phil Klay

People have a very political way of looking at war, and that's understandable.

People have a very political way of looking at war, and that's understandable.

Phil Klay

People should be able to tell stories that are important to them to try and understand what they mean. I don't think you figure anything out on your own. Certainly not war stories.

People should be able to tell stories that are important to them to try and understand what they mean. I don't think you figure anything out on your own. Certainly not war stories.

Phil Klay

We have a tendency to think of war as this quasi-mystical thing, and that interpretation flattens the experience - by using different perspectives, I wanted to open a place for readers to compare and contrast, to make judgments, to engage.

Phil Klay

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