Excerpt from Elia Kazan: A Life
I learned one technique of behaving that, in time, would help me. Observe a writer at a gathering of intellectuals. You will believe what everyone else does: that he is a perfectly friendly and agreeable fellow. Then read what he writes about the affair. You’ll find that he saw things you didn’t and had reactions you didn’t suspect. I acquired this technicque from my waiter’s job: to be a zealous listener, observe people sharply, form a private opinion — at the time often hostile and envious — but keep it all concealed.
