Words are the pen of the heart, but music is the pen of the soul.
In Egypt today most people are concerned with getting bread to eat. Only some of the educated understand how democracy works.
The Arab world also won the Nobel with me. I believe that international doors have opened, and that from now on, literate people will consider Arab literature also. We deserve that recognition.
Only the poor are handicapped by honor.
Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We are condemned to work with upstarts, clowns who no doubt got their training in a circus and then turned to journalism as the appropriate place to display their tricks.
I love Sufism as I love beautiful poetry, but it is not the answer. Sufism is like a mirage in the desert. It says to you, come and sit, relax and enjoy yourself for a while.
Freedom of expression must be considered sacred and thought can only be corrected by counter thought.
We work for praise, and dawdle once we have it.
Any blaming that Russia could have been interfering in domestic affairs of the United States is slander. And it has no evidence at all.
I love a lot of reggae, but Ive never had the opportunity to play with any reggae guys.
Writing sustains me. But wouldn’t it be better to say it sustains this kind of life? Which doesn't mean life is any better when I don’t write. On the contrary, it is far worse, wholly unbearable, and inevitably ends in madness. This is, of course, only on the assumption that I am a writer even when I don’t write - which is indeed the case; and a non-writing writer is, in fact, a monster courting insanity.