Thinking about the universe has now been handed over to specialists. The rest of us merely read about it.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

My mother was good at that, making people feel normal. Safe. Like as long as she was there, nothing truly bad could happen.

It was as helpful as throwing a drowning man both ends of the rope.

Imagination does not stir at the suggestion of the feeble, much diluted stuff that is too often put into children’s hands.

Creative ability is often mistakenly attributed to inborn talent. It is about all the ability to connect one thing with another.

The American vice is explanation.

One's life has many compartments.

Influence: What you think you have until you try to use it.

What drew me to the violin was mastering the instrument technically, which I'm continuing to do.

My writing arises out of erotic impulse toward an other: it is an act of love. And I want terribly to be loved in return, as a sign that I have loved well enough.

Knit your hearts with an unslipping knot.