Every great narrative is at least two narratives, if not more - the thing that is on the surface and then the things underneath which are invisible.

Happy is what you realize you are a fraction of a second before it's too late.

Books mean all possibilities. They mean moving out of yourself, losing yourself, dying of thirst and living to your full. They mean everything.

I wouldn't call my work Modernist. I would rust if I try to think about labels. I'd feel like the Tin Man in 'The Wizard of Oz.

To be known so well by someone is an unimaginable gift. But to be imagined so well by someone is even better.

Oh. To be filled with goodness then shattered by goodness, so beautifully mosaically fragmented by such shocking goodness.

Stella Duffy is a writer who never lets you down.

Do you come to art to be comforted, or do you come to art to be re-skinned?

We'd never expect to understand a piece of music on one listen, but we tend to believe we've read a book after reading it just once.

Short stories consume you faster. They're connected to brevity. With the short story, you are up against mortality. I know how tough they are as a form, but they're also a total joy.

A good argument, like a good dialogue, is always a proof of life, but I'd much rather go and read a book.

It was no wonder they thought us to be immortal––our nightly celebrations put Olympus to shame.

Economically, unfair trade will benefit nobody in the long run, as poorer countries will be bled totally dry and will become unable to produce anything.

I've known Nicholas Parsons for a fairly long time and his geniune pleasures are in rubber tubes, metal clips

A man can be prevented from breaking into other persons' houses by shutting him up, but shutting him up may not alter his disposition to commit burglary.

I would love to produce a film. I have written a script and am in the process of writing another, so maybe it will happen down the road. I would love to do a film in Africa.

Suffering cheerfully endured, ceases to be suffering and is transmuted into an ineffable joy.

With every year, I always try and learn something new and grow gracefully, and that's just kind of my rule for every year.

I loved The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved The Chronicles of Prydain. Basically, 'Chronicles of' - I was in!

In my opinion, if we have not achieved peace, it is because people forget its most fundamental aspect. Before we talk about peace among nations, we must settle our peace with God.

If I'm not working, I don't feel complete.