Things are not what they seem.

…words have been all my life, all my life--this need is like the Spider's need who carries before her a huge Burden of Silk which she must spin out--the silk is her life, her home, her safety--her food and drink too--and if it is attacked or pulled down, why, what can she do but make more, spin afresh, design anew….

The more research you do, the more at ease you are in the world you're writing about. It doesn't encumber you, it makes you free.

For my true thoughts have spent more time in your company than in anyone else's, these last two or three months, and where my thoughts are, there am I, in truth".

Lists are a form of power.

Once you get older, people stop listening to what you say. It's very agreeable once you get used to it.

I don't only write about English literature; I also write about chaos theory and... ants. I can understand ants.