No matter how ephemeral it is, a novel is something, while despair is nothing.

Memory is a snare, pure and simple; it alters, it subtly rearranges the past to fit the present.

Prosperity or egalitarianism -- you have to choose. I favor freedom -- you never achieve real equality anyway: you simply sacrifice prosperity for an illusion.

Like writing, reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life.

Life is a shitstorm, in which art is our only umbrella." (spoken by character in a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa)

The secret to a masterpiece is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

You cannot teach creativity - how to become a good writer. But you can help a young writer discover within himself what kind of writer he would like to be.

Its easy to know what you want to say, but not to say it

Writers are the exorcists of their own demons.

One can't fight with oneself, for this battle has only one loser.

Literature is a form of permanent insurrection. Its mission is to arouse, to disturb, to alarm, to keep men in a constant state of dissatisfaction with themselves.

You can worship God twenty four hours a day but your destiny depends on the cards he lets you play

How do you circumvent a mind bent upon lying to get away from the truth?

Other times, when existential crisis mode kicked in, I flirted with the idea of giving up and drifting whichever way gravity and wind moved me.

I don't like to talk about my dreams. I like to make them happen. I prefer to talk about them when they're done.

The mediocre golfer generally is one who is too lazy to play better.

I like that - the "you-ish" character.

I get a lot of satisfaction from crafting and shaping mixes. I love finding the right balance, the right dynamic. It's an emotional interaction with the music.

Don't sacrifice your political convictions for the convenience of the hour.

I am the enemy of anything parochial.

Just when I think it couldn't get any bigger, 'Tuskegee' reaches a new level of success.