Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp

A good nationalism has to depend on a principle of the common people, on myths of a struggling commonality.

As a writer I care about America, and care about its carelessness.

Always trust strangers, it's the people you know that let you down.

Once upon a time, I thought that politics was the name we gave to our higher instincts. That was before Margaret Thatcher, who came to power when I was 11 years old.

'Reality' is a notion that journalists take for granted.

We do not read to pass the time, but to inhabit time.

Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack of compliments, and their passions are fundamentalist.

Like children all over the world, by the age of 10 I'd come to believe that most of the really humane creatures were not really human at all.

The first rule of travel is that you should always go with someone you love, which is why I travel alone.

It's not a crime not to know yourself. It's not a crime to send life away. It's just a shame.

What you remember saves you.

After All This Time? Always" - Snape

No, I did a film called 'Death and the Compass' as well.

The Russian proposal over Iran's uranium enrichment program is considerable, but it has some problems and ambiguities to be clarified in future talks.

My color is my joy and not my burden.

To be known by the public, honestly. People come up and tell them how good I make them feel.

I worry about being a fogy and just writing for orchestras. Like, really, I should be doing more electronic stuff, I feel. Laptops as part of the orchestra, and installation sound, and speakers.

It's funny, because in drama school, my greatest strength was my range. So my early career was like that: I played all kinds of different characters.

Power is a dangerous thing. Be careful that you don't abuse it or let it make a tyrant of you.