Literary characters, like my grandmother's apparitions, are fragile beings, easily frightened; they must be treated with care so they will feel comfortable in my pages
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.
At odd and unpredictable times, we cling in fright to the past.
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.
I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing-to be clear. I have given up all thought of writing poetically or symbolically or experimentally, or in any of the other modes that might (if I were good enough) get me a Pulitzer prize. I would write merely clearly and in this way establish a warm relationship between myself and my readers, and the professional critics-Well, they can do whatever they wish.
My father was very funny, so I grew up with humor in the house. And I was always really attracted to comedies on TV. I was always really attracted to comics.
When asked about which team is the toughest team in the league, responded with an answer that all volleyball players must comprehend. He said simply that it was, 'The team you are playing. '
I have patience for centuries in me and will live as though my time were very big.
I rebel against death, yet I know that it is how I respond to death's inevitability that is going to make me less or more fully alive.