But it is a writer's duty to write and speak and record the truth, always the truth, no matter whom may be offended.

A house built on greed cannot long endure.

If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.

But of the seven deadly sins, wrath is the healthiest - next only to lust.

And if the computer gives you any back talk, pour some well-sugared office coffee into its evil little silicon brain.

I would not sacrifice a single living mesquite tree for any book ever written. One square mile of living desert is worth a hundred 'great books' - and one brave deed is worth a thousand.

Ah yes, the head is full of books. The hard part is to force them down through the bloodstream and out through the fingers.

Instant communication is not communication at all but merely a frantic, trivial, nerve-wracking bombardment of cliches, threats, fads, fashions, gibberish and advertising.

Not all questions can be answered.

Readers, not critics, are the people who determine a book's eventual fate.

In the land of bleating sheep and braying jackasses, one brave and honest man is bound to create a scandal.

Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.

I live a normal life.

Joe Wright is incredible and I'm a huge admirer of his work in general, but specifically his aesthetics and poeticism.

Civilization could not exist until there was written language, because without written language no generation could bequeath to succeeding generations anything but its simpler findings.

I'm not turning my back on classical theater. It's all about opportunities and timing a lot of the time when things come up.

Out of the chill and the shadow, into the thrill and the shine. Out of the dearth and the famine, into the fulness divine.

When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

A record co. is just a vehicle for public appearances.

Social Security is the very foundation of retirement security for millions of Americans.