We should think more about it, and accustom ourselves to the thought of death. We can't allow the fear of death to creep up on us unexpectedly. We have to make the fear familiar, and one way is to write about it. I don't think writing and thinking about death is characteristic only of old men. I think that if people began thinking about death sooner, they'd make fewer foolish mistakes.

Music is good, not evil. Poetry is good, not evil. Primitive, but oh, so true!

I don't know what will become of this piece. Our brave critics will no doubt charge me with imitating Ravel's Bolero. Too bad - this is how I hear war.

Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.

Stravinsky the composer I worship. Stravinsky the thinker I despise.

I always try to make myself as widely understood as possible; and if I don't succeed, I consider it my own fault.

The best way to hold on to something is to pay no attention to it. The things you love too much perish. You have to treat everything with irony, especially the things you hold dear. There's more of a chance then that they'll survive.