I think of New York as a puree and the rest of the United States as vegetable soup.

Meaning of the quote

The quote compares New York City to a smooth, blended puree, while the rest of the United States is like a chunky vegetable soup. This suggests that New York is distinct and unique from the other parts of the country, just as a puree is different from the individual vegetables in a soup.

About Spalding Gray

Spalding Gray was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and performance artist known for his autobiographical monologues that were later adapted into films. He achieved renown for works like “Swimming to Cambodia” and “Gray’s Anatomy”, but tragically passed away by suicide at the age of 62 after struggling with depression and injuries from a car accident.

More about the author

More quotes from Spalding Gray

I think of New York as a puree and the rest of the United States as vegetable soup.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

I say that I can’t make anything up. I think of myself as a collage artist. I’m cutting and pasting memories of my life. And I say, I have to live a life in order to tell a life. I would prefer to tell it because telling you’re always in control, you’re like God.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

If I can make people laugh it’s like being a good lover.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

I knew I couldn’t live in America and I wasn’t ready to move to Europe so I moved to an island off the coast of America – New York City .

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

I was darkly convinced that at age 52 I would kill myself because my mother committed suicide at that age. I was fantasizing that she was waiting for me on the other side of the grave.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

I understood once I held a baby in my arms, why some people have the need to keep having them.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

The fact that New York continues in the face of all of the chaos, of the crime, of the madness, you just think that it would just pop and vanish, just explode.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

Everything is contingent, and there is also chaos.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

I fantasize about going back to high school with the knowledge I have now. I would shine. I would have a good time, I would have a girlfriend. I think that’s where a lot of my pain comes from. I think I never had any teenage years to go back to.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)

Skiing is better than sex actually, because for me a good round of sex might be seven minutes. Skiing you can do for seven hours.

Spalding Gray

actor, dramatist, playwright, screenwriter (1941-2004)