Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be … when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am.

The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.

An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted.

It was not really possible to understand oneself, let alone another human being.

After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.

It is my art. I am better at it than I ever was. And I will do it as long as I can. When you reach a certain age you can slough off what is unnecessary and concentrate on what is. And why not?

What is the most innocent place in any country? Is it not the insane asylum? These people drift through life truly innocent, unable to see into themselves at all.