I realized early that unless you're willing to kill the innocent, you can't win.

Without music, life is a journey through a desert.

It's impossible to explain to a Yankee what 'tacky' is. They simply have no word for it up north, but my God, do they ever need one.

I was born and raised on a Carolina sea island and I carried the sunshine of the low-country, inked in dark gold, on my back and shoulders.

I’ve never had anyone’s approval, so I’ve learned to live without it.

The most powerful words in English are, 'Tell me a story.'

Here is all I ask of a book- give me everything. Everything, and don't leave out a single word.

I stood face to face with the moon and the ocean and the future that spread out with all its bewildering immensity before me.

Good writing ... involves the agony of turning profoundly difficult thoughts into lucid form, then forcing them into the tight-fitting uniform of language, making them visible and clear.

There is no teacher more discriminating or transforming than loss.

The great teachers fill you up with hope and shower you with a thousand reasons to embrace all aspects of life.

As far as I’m concerned, the only thing sweeter than seeing a friend is that friend canceling on me.

Imagine who you could be, what you could accomplish-if only you could get out of your own way.

Magnanimity consists in enduring tactlessness with mildness.

I was reckless with records. I would pull them out by my fingertips. I would put my hands all over them.

The soul is kissed by God in its innermost regions.

Sometimes, the advertising is better than the product. Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising. Everyone tries the thing and never buys it again.

The lightning spread of 'Western-style' gambling overseas has increased the problems of addicted and problem gamblers, organized crime and alleged corruption in Asia and the Middle East

I became the magnet for a lot of scary aggression. Cos it's scary Up North!

Everybody who served in John Kerry's boat under his command save one has stood with him.

An implicit confession is almost as bad as an implicit faith; wicked men commonly confess their sins by wholesale, We are all sinners; but the true penitent confesses his sins by retail.