Emily was feeling the elation of conscientious hosts when they can temporarily escape a ubiquitous houseguest.

For a short-story writer, a story is the combination of what the writer supposed the story would likely be about - plus what actually turned up in the course of writing.

The secret of literature, which conventional people don't guess, is that writers are forever looking for the surprising revelation - not for reinforcement of collective wisdom.

The six and one-fourth hours' television watching (the American average per day) which non-reading children do is what is called alpha-level learning. The mind needn't make any pictures since the pictures are provided, so the mind cuts current as low as it can.

It is very difficult to teach navigation theory to someone who clings to the shore.

The principle of literature is devotion to the particulars of life.

No one is shallow and vulgar forever; sooner or later the whole species likes to be profound.