The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.

There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement.

The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war.

A man who publishes his letters becomes a nudist - nothing shields him from the world's gaze except his bare skin. A writer, writing away, can always fix things up to make himself more presentable, but a man who has written a letter is stuck with it for all time.

Writing is not an exercise in excision, it's a journey into sound.

There is simply a better chance of doing well if the writer holds a steady course, enters the stream of English quietly, and does not thrash about.

To perceive Christmas through its wrappings becomes more difficult with every year.