America has had much more respect for its writers because they had to define what America was. America wasn't sure what it was.

Only in art will the lion lie down with the lamb, and the rose grow without thorn.

Religious belief is without reason and without dignity, and its record is near-universally dreadful.

Probably human cruelty is fixed and eternal. Only styles change.

My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.

When the past is forgotten, the present is unforgettable

Closure is a greasy little word which, moreover, describes a nonexistent condition. The truth, Venus, is that nobody gets over anything.

Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money.

When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.

Love is blind; but it makes you see the blind man; teetering on the roadside . . .

Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.

Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.

Expecting to receive a rebuke, her heart lifted when she read the words on the page, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I'm not studying everything that can go wrong. What I'm studying is how much love there can be, even when everything appears to be going wrong.

I don't want to go to Portsmouth or any other club that has no ambitions.

I also held several masters running titles.

We have to be vulnerable as actors, but we have to protect ourselves.

A room? A nice room? A beautiful room? A beautiful room with bath? Swing high, swing low, swing to and fro...This happened and that happened... And then the days came and I was alone.

Understand why casinos and racetracks stay in business - the gambler always loses over the long term.

People, the people we really love, where did they come from? What did we do to deserve them?

Murder offers the promise of vast relief. It is never unsexual.