The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.

I prefer to go on trying all kinds of things, not to be told, This is the way it is done.

My position is that serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict. I don’t see how art can be called art if its purpose is to frustrate humanity. To make humanity uncomfortable, yes. But intrinsically to be against humanity, that I don’t take.

I couldn't tell you why but now I know a story is in fact where you discover who you are, where a culture discovers what it is and I just think that this is a terribly important place to get into and that I would enjoy it.

I don't praise my people. I am their greatest critic.

There's no lack of writers writing novels in America, about America. Therefore, it seems to me it would be wasteful for me to add to that huge number of people writing here when there are so few people writing about somewhere else.

Art is man's constant effort to create for himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him.