Reading is like diving into an ocean of an alternate world, away from your real world, where in spite of going though the pain and pleasure of the characters, you remain a witness, unscathed.

Name the different kinds of people, ’ said Miss Lupescu. ‘Now.’Bod thought for a moment. ‘The living, ’ he said. ‘Er. The dead.’ He stopped. Then, ‘... Cats?’ he offered, uncertainly.

I wrote a novel for my degree, and I'm very happy I didn't submit that to a publisher. I sympathize with my professors who had to read it.

Poetry is like a bird, it ignores all frontiers.

Sometimes we don't understand or we forget that there are no mistakes, only lessons.

People knew about Babi Yar before Yevtushenko's poem, but they were silent. And when they read the poem, the silence was broken. Art destroys silence.

I believe in a magnificent God.

We're on the verge of a financial collapse unless we balance the budget, and that means some really, really tough decisions.

Night is the time to weep,To wet with unseen tearsThose graves of memory where sleepThe joys of other years.

I visit studios. Just to get the feel, the smell, and see what other people are doing. Not only listening to the radio, but going to studios, greeting musicians and artists, just getting a vibe.

A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.