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Karen Blixen Quotes (1885-1962)
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About Karen Blixen
Karen von Blixen-Finecke (17 April 1885 β 7 September 1962) was a Danish author; born Karen Christence Dinesen, she is also known under her pen name Isak Dinesen.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Karen Blixen quotes.
βIsak Dinesen is also known for this quote.β
βReal art must always involve some witchcraft.β
βMan and woman are two locked caskets, of which each contains the key to the other.β
βHuman talk is a centrifugal function, ever in flight outwards from what is on the talker's mind.β
βI have a feeling that wherever I may be in the future, I will be wondering whether there is rain at Ngong.β
βMan reaches the highest point of lovableness at 12 to 17 β to get it back, in a second flowering, at the age of 70 to 90.β
βOf all the idiots I have met in my life, and the Lord knows that they have not been few or little, I think that I have been the biggest.β
βIn the Ngong Forest I have also seen, on a narrow path through thick growth, in the middle of a very hot day, the Giant Forest Hog, a rare person to meet.β
βWhat is man, when you come to think upon him, but a minutely set, ingenious machine for turning, with infinite artfulness, the red wine of Shiraz into urine?β
βIt is little silly to be a caricature of something of which you know very little, and which means very little to you, but to be your own caricature β that is the true carnival!β
βIt was Africa distilled up through six thousand feet like the strong and refined essence of a continent... The views were immensely wide β everything that you saw made for greatness and freedom, and unequalled nobility.β
What Karen Blixen Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Karen Blixen shared regarding contemporaries.
Karen Blixen on Women
βThe entire being of a woman is a secret, which should be kept. And one more deep secret to her becomes part of it, one charm more, a hidden treasure. It is said that the tree under which a murderer buries his victim will die, but the apple tree under which a girl buries her murdered child does blossom more richly and does give more perfect fruit than othersβthe tree transforms the hidden crime into white and rosy, and into delicious flavor.β
Quotes About Karen Blixen
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Karen Blixen from others.
Raymond Carver on Karen Blixen
Louise Erdrich on Karen Blixen
β(Tell us about your favorite short story.) ...Isak Dinesenβs masterworks, βThe Deluge at Norderneyβ and βThe Monkey,β are so important to me that I keep wearing out the collection they are part of β βSeven Gothic Tales.ββ
Ernest Hemingway as quoted on Karen Blixen
βAs a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only of my own countrymen. Greater writers than these also did not receive the prize. I would have been happy β happier β today if the prize had been given to that beautiful writer Isak Dinesen.β
About Karen Blixen
Karen von Blixen-Finecke (17 April 1885 β 7 September 1962) was a Danish author; born Karen Christence Dinesen, she is also known under her pen name Isak Dinesen.