"Personal experience is the basis of all real Literature." ― George Henry Lewes Topic(s): Experience More From George Henry Lewes "Imagination is not the exclusive appanage of artists, but belongs in varying degrees to all men." "Philosophy and Art both render the invisible visible by imagination." "Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed." More In Experience "Screaming at children over their grades, especially to the point of the child’s tears, is child abuse, pure and simple. It’s not funny and it’s not good parenting. It is a crushing, scarring, disastrous experience for the child. It isn’t the least bit funny."― Ben Stein "There seems to be a terrible misunderstanding on the part of a great many people to the effect that when you cease to believe you may cease to behave."― Louis Kronenberger "Some Pulitzer winners – novelists – have confided to me that getting the prize screwed them up. It messed with their heads. That hasn’t been my experience."― Jeffrey Eugenides