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100 Top Killer Quotes From Truman Capote

Famous As: Known for His Novella “Breakfast at Tiffany's” and Non-Fiction Novel “In Cold Blood”
Born On: September 30, 1924
Died On: August 25, 1984
Born In: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died At Age: 59

Truman Streckfus Persons, better known as Truman Capote is an American novelist, playwright, actor and screenwriter,who wrote rich literature including short stories, nonfiction novels and plays. His prose shimmered with intellect, quality and clarity. Some of his literary classics include In Cold Blood, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Other Voices, Miriam, Other Rooms and To Kill a mocking Bird. This most famous writer of post-war era had a difficult childhood. Being a lonely child, he suffered the brunt of his parent’s divorce and frequent relocations. Due to prolonged absence of his mother from his life, he taught himself how to read and write. Though Capote received schooling at various places, he didn’t complete his education. Upon finishing high school, he was hired as a copyboy for The New Yorker though he started his writing career at the age of 11. Till date, around 20 daily soaps and movies have adapted his plots. In 1970s, he rose to fame as a celebrity writer and started appearing in talk shows. The ‘Spiritual Orphan’ fell prey to narcotics and finally died at 59. He left behind two unfinished novels, whose climax remains a mystery. His life is an inspiring tale of relentless efforts, overcoming challenges and accomplishing success with hard work. As a writer he produced quite a few good quotes. Some of Capote’s most memorable quotes appear below and these quotations come from his interviews, essays, short stories, and even from fictional characters, that he portrayed in his writings. A collection of quotations and sayings by Truman Capote!

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

Truman Capote
It may be normal, darling; but I'd rather be natural.

It may be normal, darling; but I'd rather be natural.

Truman Capote
I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together.

I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together.

Truman Capote
Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.

Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.

Truman Capote
Aprils have never meant much to me, autumns seem that season of beginning, spring.

Aprils have never meant much to me, autumns seem that season of beginning, spring.

Truman Capote
The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there.

The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call “out there.

Truman Capote
More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.

More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.

Truman Capote
He loved her, he loved her, and until he'd loved her she had never minded being alone....

He loved her, he loved her, and until he'd loved her she had never minded being alone....

Truman Capote
It’s better to look at the sky than live there

It’s better to look at the sky than live there

Truman Capote
You can love somebody without it being like that. You keep them a stranger, a stranger who's a friend.

You can love somebody without it being like that. You keep them a stranger, a stranger who's a friend.

Truman Capote
But I'm not a saint yet. I'm an alcoholic. I'm a drug addict. I'm homosexual. I'm a genius.

But I'm not a saint yet. I'm an alcoholic. I'm a drug addict. I'm homosexual. I'm a genius.

Truman Capote
You can't blame a writer for what the characters say.

You can't blame a writer for what the characters say.

Truman Capote
You can’t give your heart to a wild thing.

You can’t give your heart to a wild thing.

Truman Capote
Home is where you feel at home. I'm still looking.

Home is where you feel at home. I'm still looking.

Truman Capote
I love New York, even though it isn't mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it.

I love New York, even though it isn't mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it.

Truman Capote
To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make.

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make.

Truman Capote
I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true.

I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true.

Truman Capote
Everybody has to feel superior to somebody,

Everybody has to feel superior to somebody," she said. "But it's customary to present a little proof before you take the privilege.

Truman Capote
Never love a wild thing...If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky.

Never love a wild thing...If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky.

Truman Capote
Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.

Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.

Truman Capote
I told you: you can make yourself love anybody.

I told you: you can make yourself love anybody.

Truman Capote
Don't wanna sleep, don't wanna die, just wanna go a-travellin' through the pastures of the sky

Don't wanna sleep, don't wanna die, just wanna go a-travellin' through the pastures of the sky

Truman Capote
Would you reach in the drawer there and give me my purse. A girl doesn't read this sort of thing without her lipstick.

Would you reach in the drawer there and give me my purse. A girl doesn't read this sort of thing without her lipstick.

Truman Capote
I loved her enough to forget myself, my self pitying despairs, and be content that something she thought happy was going to happen.

I loved her enough to forget myself, my self pitying despairs, and be content that something she thought happy was going to happen.

Truman Capote
We don't belong to each other: he's an independent, and so am I.

We don't belong to each other: he's an independent, and so am I.

Truman Capote
Good luck and believe me, dearest Doc - it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear.

Good luck and believe me, dearest Doc - it's better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear.

Truman Capote
Leave it to me: I'm always top banana in the shock department.

Leave it to me: I'm always top banana in the shock department.

Truman Capote
Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.

Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.

Truman Capote
I'm very scared, Buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what's yours until you've thrown it away.

I'm very scared, Buster. Yes, at last. Because it could go on forever. Not knowing what's yours until you've thrown it away.

Truman Capote
It is no shame to have a dirty face- the shame comes when you keep it dirty.

It is no shame to have a dirty face- the shame comes when you keep it dirty.

Truman Capote
Reading dreams. That's what started her walking down the road. Every day she'd walk a little further: a mile, and come home. Two miles, and come home. One day she just kept on.

Reading dreams. That's what started her walking down the road. Every day she'd walk a little further: a mile, and come home. Two miles, and come home. One day she just kept on.

Truman Capote
It should take you about four seconds to walk from here to the door. I'll give you two.

It should take you about four seconds to walk from here to the door. I'll give you two.

Truman Capote
Love should be allowed. I’m all for it. Now that I’ve got a pretty good idea what it is.

Love should be allowed. I’m all for it. Now that I’ve got a pretty good idea what it is.

Truman Capote
You're wonderful. Unique. I love you.

You're wonderful. Unique. I love you.

Truman Capote
There is only one unpardonable sin--deliberate cruelty. All else can be forgiven.

There is only one unpardonable sin--deliberate cruelty. All else can be forgiven.

Truman Capote
I'll never get used to anything. Anybody that does they might as well be dead.

I'll never get used to anything. Anybody that does they might as well be dead.

Truman Capote
But it's Sunday, Mr. Bell. Clocks are slow on Sundays.

But it's Sunday, Mr. Bell. Clocks are slow on Sundays.

Truman Capote
Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity.

Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity.

Truman Capote
What I found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it;nothing very bad could happen to you there.

What I found does the most good is just to get into a taxi and go to Tiffany's. It calms me down right away, the quietness and the proud look of it;nothing very bad could happen to you there.

Truman Capote
As long as you live, there's always something waiting; and even if it's bad, and you know it's bad, what can you do? You can't stop living.

As long as you live, there's always something waiting; and even if it's bad, and you know it's bad, what can you do? You can't stop living.

Truman Capote
[L]ove, having no geography, knows no boundaries.

[L]ove, having no geography, knows no boundaries.

Truman Capote
Maybe the older you grow and the less easy it is to put thought into action, maybe that’s why it gets all locked up in your head and becomes a burden.

Maybe the older you grow and the less easy it is to put thought into action, maybe that’s why it gets all locked up in your head and becomes a burden.

Truman Capote
Well, I'm about as tall as a shotgun, and just as noisy.

Well, I'm about as tall as a shotgun, and just as noisy.

Truman Capote
The wind is us-- it gathers and remembers all our voices, then sends them talking and telling through the leaves and the fields.

The wind is us-- it gathers and remembers all our voices, then sends them talking and telling through the leaves and the fields.

Truman Capote
I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods.

I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods.

Truman Capote
All literature is gossip

All literature is gossip

Truman Capote
Wrinkles and bones, white hair and diamonds: I can't wait.

Wrinkles and bones, white hair and diamonds: I can't wait.

Truman Capote
A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.

Truman Capote
Imagination, of course, can open any door - turn the key and let terror walk right in.

Imagination, of course, can open any door - turn the key and let terror walk right in.

Truman Capote
She had only one flaw. She was perfect, otherwise she was perfect.

She had only one flaw. She was perfect, otherwise she was perfect.

Truman Capote
There were hints of sunrise on the rim of the sky, yet it was still dark, and the traces of morning color were like goldfish swimming in ink.

There were hints of sunrise on the rim of the sky, yet it was still dark, and the traces of morning color were like goldfish swimming in ink.

Truman Capote
It's bad enough in life to do without something YOU want; but confound it, what gets my goat is not being able to give somebody something you want THEM to have.

It's bad enough in life to do without something YOU want; but confound it, what gets my goat is not being able to give somebody something you want THEM to have.

Truman Capote
Our real fears are the sounds of footsteps walking in the corridors of our minds, and the anxieties, the phantom floatings, they create.

Our real fears are the sounds of footsteps walking in the corridors of our minds, and the anxieties, the phantom floatings, they create.

Truman Capote
Have you never heard what the wise man say : all of the future exists in the past.

Have you never heard what the wise man say : all of the future exists in the past.

Truman Capote
I despise people who can't control themselves.

I despise people who can't control themselves.

Truman Capote
Still, when all is said, somewhere one must belong: even the soaring falcon returns to its master's wrist.

Still, when all is said, somewhere one must belong: even the soaring falcon returns to its master's wrist.

Truman Capote
Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.

Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.

Truman Capote
I thought that Mr. Clutter was a very nice gentleman. I thought so right up to the moment that I cut his throat.

I thought that Mr. Clutter was a very nice gentleman. I thought so right up to the moment that I cut his throat.

Truman Capote
I don't want to own anything until I know I've found the place where me and things belong together. I'm not quite sure where that is just yet. But I know what it's like.

I don't want to own anything until I know I've found the place where me and things belong together. I'm not quite sure where that is just yet. But I know what it's like.

Truman Capote
Oh Jesus God we did belong to each other. He was mine.

Oh Jesus God we did belong to each other. He was mine.

Truman Capote
Dizzy with excitement is no mere phrase.

Dizzy with excitement is no mere phrase.

Truman Capote
It's a scientific fact that if you stay in California you lose one point of your IQ every year.

It's a scientific fact that if you stay in California you lose one point of your IQ every year.

Truman Capote
She sounds the way bananas taste.

She sounds the way bananas taste.

Truman Capote
I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.

I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.

Truman Capote
If a man doesn't like baseball, then he must like horses, and if he doesn't like either of them, well, I'm in trouble anyway: he don't like girls.

If a man doesn't like baseball, then he must like horses, and if he doesn't like either of them, well, I'm in trouble anyway: he don't like girls.

Truman Capote
A disquieting loneliness came into my life, but it induced no hunger for friends of longer acquaintance: they seemed now like a salt-free, sugarless diet.

A disquieting loneliness came into my life, but it induced no hunger for friends of longer acquaintance: they seemed now like a salt-free, sugarless diet.

Truman Capote
Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way.

Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way.

Truman Capote
You don't run out on people; you run out on yourself.

You don't run out on people; you run out on yourself.

Truman Capote
Think of nothing things
think of wind

Think of nothing things think of wind

Truman Capote
The average personality re-shapes frequently, every few years even our bodies undergo a complete overhaul-desirable or not, it is a natural thing that we should change.

The average personality re-shapes frequently, every few years even our bodies undergo a complete overhaul-desirable or not, it is a natural thing that we should change.

Truman Capote
We all, sometimes, leave each other there under the skies, and we never understand why.

We all, sometimes, leave each other there under the skies, and we never understand why.

Truman Capote
You got to want it to be good, and I don't want it.

You got to want it to be good, and I don't want it.

Truman Capote
I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart. Which isn't being pious. Just practical. Cancer may cool you, but the other's sure to.

I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart. Which isn't being pious. Just practical. Cancer may cool you, but the other's sure to.

Truman Capote
I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany´s.

I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany´s.

Truman Capote
It's redundant to die in Los Angeles.

It's redundant to die in Los Angeles.

Truman Capote
My yardstick is how somebody treats me.

My yardstick is how somebody treats me.

Truman Capote
And in this moment, like a swift intake of breath, the rain came.

And in this moment, like a swift intake of breath, the rain came.

Truman Capote
Are the dead as lonesome as the living?

Are the dead as lonesome as the living?

Truman Capote
The problem with living outside the law is that you no longer have its protection.

The problem with living outside the law is that you no longer have its protection.

Truman Capote
I've tried to believe, but I don't, I can't, and there's no use pretending.

I've tried to believe, but I don't, I can't, and there's no use pretending.

Truman Capote
Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.

Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.

Truman Capote
Be anything but a coward, a pretender, an emotional crook, a whore: I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart.

Be anything but a coward, a pretender, an emotional crook, a whore: I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart.

Truman Capote
He’d always been willing to confess his faults, for, by admitting them, it was as if he made them no longer exist.

He’d always been willing to confess his faults, for, by admitting them, it was as if he made them no longer exist.

Truman Capote
She is pure Alice in Wonderland, and her appearance and demeanor are a nicely judged mix of the Red Queen and a Flamingo.

She is pure Alice in Wonderland, and her appearance and demeanor are a nicely judged mix of the Red Queen and a Flamingo.

Truman Capote
I suppose you think I'm very brazen. Or très fou. Or something.'
Not at all.'
She seemed disappointed. 'Yes, you do. Everybody does. I don't mind. It's useful.

I suppose you think I'm very brazen. Or très fou. Or something.' Not at all.' She seemed disappointed. 'Yes, you do. Everybody does. I don't mind. It's useful.

Truman Capote
I thought of the future, and spoke of the past.

I thought of the future, and spoke of the past.

Truman Capote
I couldn't understand a sense of unease that multiplied until I could hear my heart beating.

I couldn't understand a sense of unease that multiplied until I could hear my heart beating.

Truman Capote
There’s got to be something wrong with us. To do what we did.

There’s got to be something wrong with us. To do what we did.

Truman Capote
She's such a goddamn liar maybe she don't know herself anymore.

She's such a goddamn liar maybe she don't know herself anymore.

Truman Capote
Those fellows, they're always crying over killers. Never a thought for the victims.

Those fellows, they're always crying over killers. Never a thought for the victims.

Truman Capote
Lively, too. Talky as a jaybird. With something smart to say on every subject: better than the radio.

Lively, too. Talky as a jaybird. With something smart to say on every subject: better than the radio.

Truman Capote
A beautiful day with the buoyancy of a bird.

A beautiful day with the buoyancy of a bird.

Truman Capote
I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before before.

I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before before.

Truman Capote
[Y]outh is hardly human: it can't be, for the young never believe they will die...especially would they never believe that death comes, and often, in forms other than the natural one.

[Y]outh is hardly human: it can't be, for the young never believe they will die...especially would they never believe that death comes, and often, in forms other than the natural one.

Truman Capote
She was a triumph over ugliness, so often more beguiling than real beauty, if only because it contains paradox.

She was a triumph over ugliness, so often more beguiling than real beauty, if only because it contains paradox.

Truman Capote
The enemy was anyone who was someone he wanted to be or who had anything he wanted to have.

The enemy was anyone who was someone he wanted to be or who had anything he wanted to have.

Truman Capote
He wants awfully to be inside staring out: anybody with their nose pressed against a glass is liable to look stupid.

He wants awfully to be inside staring out: anybody with their nose pressed against a glass is liable to look stupid.

Truman Capote
I know the next best thing is often the very best.

I know the next best thing is often the very best.

Truman Capote
Shoot, boy, the country's just fulla folks what knows everything, and don't understand nothing, just fullofem.

Shoot, boy, the country's just fulla folks what knows everything, and don't understand nothing, just fullofem.

Truman Capote
Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can't have too many friends because then you're just not really friends.

Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can't have too many friends because then you're just not really friends.

Truman Capote