... it's possible to let love fly by like a cloud in a windy sky if one is too timid, or perhaps unable to believe he is entitled to good fortune.

A writer has to surprise himself to be worth reading.

Charity you can give even when you haven't got.

You write by sitting down and writing. There's no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he's disciplined, doesn't matter.

We have in my country (Russia) a quotation: "It is impossible to make out of apology a fur coat.

Space plus whatever you feel equals more whatever you feel, marvelous for happiness, God save you otherwise.

A man is an island in the only sense that matters, not an easy way to be. We live in mystery, a cosmos of separate lonely bodies, men, insects, stars. It is all loneliness and men know it best.