There is a lack of context in contemporary education. And contemporary consideration - because we live in those interiorities so much. Especially young kids who live by surfing the Web.

Oh, a bookshop. Why not pop in and buy a little Kant? And perhaps just a quarter-pound of Kafka. Don't bother to wrap it, thanks. I'll eat it here.

Good art is a form of prayer. It's a way to say what is not sayable.

Baseball is a game where you are always waiting, and then when something happens it's like turning a kaleidoscope when you were a kid.

I love thrillers. I would even read certain science fiction, although I haven't been a devotee for many years.

I love baseball. What I love about baseball is that you are always waiting.

The best defense is a good story.

Never use 'submit' as a verb for sending work to magazine or book publishers; say 'offer,' and never, ever submit. Keep your knees unbent. Be brave.

What to know about pain is how little we do to deserve it, how simple it is to give, how hard to lose.

I have found myself writing poetry shortly after I retired. Which I hadn't done in forty years.

I always had good students.

The people who truly matter, would surely love you unconditionally for being true to yourself. So why worry about those who wouldn't accept you?

The cat is the beutiful devil. And here we can use the word, even without the “a.”- from a Dec. 21 1960, a letter to Sheri Martinelli"On Cats

Soft flesh is eaten by hard teeth.

This isn't a fairy tale. It's New York City.

It is in the darkness of their eyes that men lose their way.

Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth. You're an idiot babe, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

I want it all and I want it now.

Given the chance, people will buy from people who care.

I'd rather be broke and have a whole lot of respect. It's the principle of it.

Composing is improvisation slowed down.