Those who write for lucre or fame are grosser than the cartel robbers, for they steal the genius of the people, which is its will to resist evil.

Herman Melville was as separated from a civilized literature as the lost Atlantis was said to have been from the great peoples of the earth.

We cannot live, suffer or die for somebody else, for suffering is too precious to be shared.

When one realizes that his life is worthless he either commits suicide or travels.

Nothing in our times has become so unattractive as virtue.

Recognize the cunning man not by the corpses he pays homage to but by the living writers he conspires against with the most shameful weapon, Silence, or the briefest review.

It takes a long time to understand nothing.

Writing is conscience, scruple, and the farming of our ancestors.

It is very perplexing how an intrepid frontier people, who fought a wilderness, floods, tornadoes, and the Rockies, cower before criticism, which is regarded as a malignant tumor in the imagination.

A strong foe is better than a weak friend.

Narcissus never wrote well nor was a friend.

Good night, my lord.” The words were pronounced in her most withering tone.By contrast, he remained quite alarmingly unwithered long after she left.

Let Justice, blind and halt and maimed, chastise the rebel spirit surging in my veins, let the Law deal me penalties and pains And make me hideous in my neighbours' eyes.

Don't be afraid to question. Don't be afraid to get fired. Don't be afraid to be wrong.

I love Jet Li, he's really special.

All cities are geological and three steps cannot be taken without encountering ghosts.

I don't care what the New York Times says about me, and no one I care about cares what the New York Times says about me.

In spring rain a pretty girl yawning.

Everything I do is blown out of proportion. It really hurts my feelings.

There is so much wonderful stuff and so many amazing people in this world.

...there is no everyday activity which does not aspire to be photographed, filmed or videotaped. For there is a general desire to be endlessly remembered and endlessly repeatable.