The need to express oneself in writing springs from a mal-adjustment to life, or from an inner conflict which the adolescent (or the grown man) cannot resolve in action. Those to whom action comes as easily as breathing rarely feel the need to break loose from the real, to rise above, and describe it... I do not mean that it is enough to be maladjusted to become a great writer, but writing is, for some, a method of resolving a conflict, provided they have the necessary talent.

If, in New York, you arrive late for an appointment, say, "I took a taxi".

There are deserts in every life, and the desert must be depicted if we are to give a fair and complete idea of the country.

Men and women are not born inconstant: they are made so by their early amorous experiences.

Two human beings anchored to one another are like two ships shaken by waves; their carcases collide with one another and creak.

There are certain persons for whom pure Truth is a poison.

Art is an effort to create, beside the real world, a more humane world.