Interesting Quotes by American Playwright Tennessee Williams

Writer of such epic plays as A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Glass Menagerie, we’ve gathered some cool facts and quotes you might not have known about previously. We’re also curated an Amazon list of books and movies you might want to own.

• Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on March 26, 1911.
• He changed his name to Tennessee in 1939 from Thomas, because his friends had called him that.
• Williams briefly studied journalism, but left the University of Missouri in 1932 when his parents wanted him to work at the International Shoe Company, where his father also worked.

Before we get started on quotes, check out this hot scene. (1:04)

“In memory, everything seems to happen to music.” — Tennessee Williams

“Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else.” — Tennessee Williams

• Tennessee was the middle child, having an older sister and younger brother.
• His first published piece, “The Vengeance of Nitocris”, was printed in the August 1928 edition of Weird Tales.
  • He made $35 from the sale, which is roughly $500 in today’s currency.
  • Williams was 16 years old at the time.

“I don’t want realism. I want magic!” – Tennessee Williams

“Oh, you can’t describe someone you’re in love with!” — Tennessee Williams

• Before making his mark as a playwright with A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams was forced to pawn his typewriter a few times for food.
• Tennessee won two Pulitzer Prizes, for A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
• A Streetcar Named Desire was produced in 1947 and later adapted to film in the 1950s.

“We’re all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.” — Tennessee Williams

“I didn’t go to the moon, I went much further – for time is the longest distance between two places.” — Tennessee Williams

“How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.” – Tennessee Williams

• Williams began to struggle with alcohol and drugs in the 1960s and 1970s. His work suffered as a consequence.
• He was found dead in his hotel suite at the Hotel Elysee in Manhattan on February 25, 1983. He was 71 years old.

“If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.” – Tennessee Williams

“When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.” — Tennessee Williams

“I think that hate is a feeling that can only exist where there is no understanding.” — Tennessee Williams

Curated List of Great Works by Tennessee Williams available on Amazon.

Check out more literary quotes in our Quote Vault.