That vision of a common culture is now simply a remote wistfulness.

It is a dangerous thing to have instant access to your emotions.

Therapy, as opposed to analysis, is a whole construct of myth, beautiful and creative.

The strangest thing that human speech and human writing can do is create a metaphor. That is an amazing leap, is it not?

I also believe in cigarettes, cholesterol, alcohol, carbon monoxide, masturbation, the Arts Council, nuclear weapons, the Daily Telegraph, and not properly labeling fatal poisons, but above all else, most of all, I believe in the one thing that can come out of people's mouths: vomit.

Politics is still crucially important. Our choices are vital, and we've got to make them and not just say, 'Oh they're all the same.' They are all the same in certain ways, alas - a political animal is such an animal.

Ideals jump across the hierarchies of the printed word.