poetry ... shows with a sudden intense clarity what is already there.

I always return to Paris, taking my selves along - past self, customary self, the self I never had.

nobody alive or dead deserves to be called a poetess.

The poor South. Already guilty of slavery, it became guilty of cigarettes.

being asked to decide between your passion for work and your passion for children was like being asked by your doctor whether you preferred him to remove your brain or your heart.

I don't feel like a survivor. I feel left behind.

Never stop searching.

Well, hope for your thrilling career - but remember that if there is to be drama in your life somebody must pay the piper in the coin of suffering. If not you - then someone else.

Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only YOU can be responsible for it. You have to invest in yourself, or no one else will.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, writers will go to stupefying lengths to get the infernal roar of words out of their skulls and onto paper.

the sea is made of blood

You're bound by the frame. You've become so engrossed in the movie of your life that you have forgotten that you're sitting there watching.

Far best is he who is himself all-wise, and he, too, good who listens to wise words; But whoso is not wise or lays to hear another's wisdom is a useless man.

Let's get this started, people. It won't be long before we all lose our minds.

She wanted to feel safe. Untouchable in her home. The ultimate female fantasy.

The thing about tennis is if you stay off for two weeks, or just for three days, you can lose your rhythm quickly. So it's just a question of constant diligence and vigilance.