It was as if I had been following a narrow trail, and had suddenly realized that at any time I could leave it and strike out cross-country.

She had come to letters late in her life, and though she had mastered them, they had never become her good friends.

When has been disappointed for so long, hope becomes the enemy. One cannot be dashed to the earth unless one is lifted first, and I learned to avoid hope.

There was a danger in asking too much of a child, but the danger of asking too little was almost equal.

I will always take your part, Bee. Right or wrong. That is why you must always take care to be right, lest you make your father a fool.

As dye soaks fibres, drawn into them to change their colour forever, so does a memory, stinging or sweet, change the fibre of a man’s character.

I was lonely, and a lonely heart has hungers that can overpower both common sense and dignity.

...there was no point in sighing after what I could not have. It only distracted me from what I did have.

...once students have been taught that learning is tedious, difficult, and useless, they will never learn another lesson.

How often does a man know, without question, that he has done well? I do not think it happens often in anyone's life, and it becomes even rarer once one has a child.

Stop your whining. If you are frightened, be silent. Whining is for prey. It attracts predators. And you are not prey.

Never forget a man who weathered and rescued you from the storm just because you can see the shores.

Emotion is often what we rely upon to carry us across the unfathomable voids in our intelligence.

There are three kinds of forms in the human figure: Ovoid forms - egg, ball and barrel masses; Column forms - cylinder, cone; Spatulate forms - box, slab and wedge blocks.

My objectives are very limited. I want to do the best I can with the talent God gave me. I hope to goodness that every novel I do gets better and better, not worse and worse.

All I can do now is cover the mirrors.

One literature differs from another, either before or after it, not so much because of the text as for the manner in which it is read.

I think Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan are living in a fairly tale land on their energy policy.

Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal.

I kind of think that artists throughout history, poets throughout history have been criticized for sharing what's on people's minds and I don't think it's any different now.

Some people are used to having things done for them by her parents, I am not. I can do it myself.