In the American Metaphysical, reality is always material reality, hard, resistant, unformed, impenetrable, and unpleasant.

We are at heart so profoundly anarchistic that the only form of state we can imagine living in is Utopian; and so cynical that the only Utopia we can believe in is authoritarian.

Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal.

Where misunderstanding serves others as an advantage, one is helpless to make oneself understood.

Being a Jew is like walking in the wind or swimming: you are touched at all points and conscious everywhere.

The poet is in command of his fantasy, while it is exactly the mark of the neurotic that he is possessed by his fantasy.

What marks the artist is his power to shape the material of pain we all have.

It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief.

Unless we insist that politics is imagination and mind, we will learn that imagination and mind are politics, and of a kind we will not like.

It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it.

The immature artist imitates. The mature artist steals.

Action is the pulse of any good story, but the character is the heart. If the action has no consequence to the character, the story loses heart.

Phoenix wouldn’t stop looking at me like he was looking through a telescope. It was unsettling, being stared at like I was the most beautiful thing in space.

Have a determination that is strong enough to move walls.

There's a common misconception with sketch comedy that you just go up there and wing it, but it's written, and there really is order.

Our veterans deserve the very best, and that means ensuring that America's veterans receive high-quality services and cares when they come back home.

...one emotion after another crept into her face like objects into a slowly developing picture.

Material Girl is about having your own personal style, and my personal style reflects the brand's aesthetic.

The best way to turn a woman's head is to tell her she has a beautiful profile.

To my knowledge, no progressive educator has ever suggested that children didn't need to know the "mere facts" about the contributions of African Americans to our society.

The things you have that money won't buy are the things that will enable you to get more of the things that money will buy.