Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison was an American author of science fiction who has been assessed by the admins of this site as ENTJ.

Quotes

 * [On why writers are not respected]: "Because half the world is illiterate, or hasn’t read a book since before Reagan introduced mediocrity as a college-level course; and the other half treads water in the gravy of hubris secretly knowing they can write, if only they had the spare time."


 * "I take contemporary events and look at them through the lens of fantasy, and see what they really mean in mythic terms."


 * "I adhere to a very strict rigor of personal ethics and I demand it of those around me as well."


 * Vox: "Most writers would sit back, take the praise, and keep quiet about the sausage-making process. Ellison wasn’t most writers, telling anyone who’d listen what had happened to his script, all the alterations and adjustments that made it lesser than the version he’d dreamed up."


 * "I have won more awards than anyone else in the field, and I say that with absolutely no humility. Nobody gave me anything, I worked my ass off to get those awards. As you can tell, I am not the world's most lovable guy, so for me to win an award means the work has got to be really great."


 * "I cannot support it -- I cannot bear it -- when people laugh at me."


 * IMDB: Interviewers and fans ask questions about his work at the risk of being on the receiving end of a barrage of vicious insults regarding the impertinence of the question and the intelligence of the questioner.


 * IMDB: He is famous for his hot temper and outspoken nature, which has led to more then his share of high-profile feuds.