The poet, as a rule, is a half-man - a sissy, not a real person, and he is in no shape to lead real men in matters of blood, or courage.

Understand me. I’m not like an ordinary world. I have my madness, I live in another dimension and I do not have time for things that have no soul.

The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?

People are strange: They are constantly angered by trivial things, but on a major matter like totally wasting their lives, they hardly seem to notice.

Find what you love and let it kill you.

If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.

Love is a fog that burns with the first daylight of reality.

Sometimes I feel as if we are all trapped in a movie. We know our lines, where to walk, how to act, only there is no camera. Yet, we can't break out of the movie. And it's a bad one.

You have to die a few times before you can really live.

I stopped looking for a Dream Girl, I just wanted one that wasn't a nightmare.

I have no great faith in political arithmetic, and I mean not to warrant the exactness of either of these computations.

Because I survived, I must do everything possible to help others.

Outwardly I am 83, but inwardly I am every age, with the emotions and experience of each period.

Pressure bursts pipes. I thank God for giving me peace of mind to overcome pressure. The difference between winning and losing is when pressure hits.

I don't do a lot of collaborations that I don't believe in. Actually, I don't do any collaborations that I don't believe in.

So long as readers keep reading and my publishers keep publishing, I plan to keep on writing. I'd have to be an idiot to be burnt-out in this job.

Jazz, of course, is our heritage. Jazz is a culture, it's not a fad. It's up to us to see to it that it stays alive.

From our first babblings to our last word, we make but one statement, and that is our life.

It is equally a fault to believe all men or to believe none.

Thoughtfulness for others, generosity, modesty, and self-respect are the qualities which make a real gentleman or lady.