War must never be a condition but, rather, a temporary scourge which we suffer as a child does a fever, knowing that health follows the long night of pain and that peace is health.

The Great Change is when humankind accepts its role as part of the natural order of the universe instead of its role as a cancer

We are all eaters of souls.

It no longer matters who consider themselves the masters of events. Events no longer obey their masters.

I knew that I wanted to be a writer even before I knew exactly what being a writer entailed

The never-ending competition between writers hasn't changed between 1868 and 2000. I used to belong to writers' workshops with other professionals, but that becomes impossible after a while. Everyone's on a different step of the career ladder. Jealousy doesn't have to erupt into murder and burying someone in Wells Cathedral, but it is always there.

The life of a poet lies not merely in the finite language-dance of expression but in the nearly infinite combinations of perception and memory combined with the sensitivity to what is perceived and remembered.