Art is inherently subversive. It’s destabilizing. It undermines what you already know and what you already think. It is the opposite of propaganda.

Whether it is done quickly or slowly, however splendid the results, the process of writing fiction is inherently, inevitably, indistinguishable from wasting time.

Every moment is all the things that have happened before and all the things that are going to happen, and...the way all those things look at one point on their way along a line.

When one writes, there’s the double horror of discovering not only what it is that one so fears but also the triviality of that fear.

It's broadening. You meet people in your family you'd never happen to run into otherwise.

I always thought of writing as holy. I still do. It’s not something to be approached casually.

I'm a person with virtually no feelings.

Everything makes me angry, unless it makes me sad.

Be careful not to laugh at the Phoenix when she goes up in flames, or you'll be left in the dust when she grows her new wings and flies swiftly away.

Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.

By the way, I understand that now you can have the Times delivered to your door here in the Twin Cities.

I write rhymes with addition and algebra, mental geometry.

The greatest compliment one can pay a master is to compare him with Capablanca.

To me the question of inspiration is an exercise in hindsight. The truth is inspiration is mysterious at the time. I don't think it's ever a rational process.

You can’t look at someone with your eyes and take their measure. You have to look with the heart.

Only in America could a refugee girl from Central Europe become secretary of state.

People got to realize that the owners who been paying me are a lot richer than I am. It's not like I was born rich; I had to play basketball to make this type of money.

I know men, and I tell you, Jesus is more than a man. Comparison is impossible between Him and any other human being who ever lived, because He was the Son of God.