She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness. It is the feet of clay that make the gold of the image precious.

I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers. My elder brother won't die, and my younger brothers seem never to do anything else.

If a man treats life artistically, his brain is his heart.

What fire does not destroy, it hardens

All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

Did you miss me?’“A little bit, ” she said with a shrug.“You have tears running down your cheeks, ” he said with a grin. “I think you missed me more than a little.

In our evolution language has been the greatest single contribution to our understanding and misunderstanding

If someone looks into your eyes, I read in a book one time, he'll see right into your soul. I didn't want anyone to see into my soul.

ZIGZAG, v.t. To move forward uncertainly, from side to side, as one carrying the white man's burden.

The truth is dark under your eyelids.

If you want to see me cry, just come to a photo shoot.

Takeoff isn't scary at all - just the landing. Once you're in the air, you feel that sense of freedom of no limits.

All outward forms of change brought about by wars, revolutions, reformations, laws and ideologies have failed completely to change the basic nature of man and therefore of society.

I had a short story collection come out in 2006, and then I couldn't work on large projects for a long time because I was finishing my doctoral degree.

The period of childhood is a stage on which time and space become entangled.