One can summon courage and fortitude to face tragedy; irritations and frustrations are a cloud of mosquitoes that nip and sting and drive one frantic.

A writer's working hours are his waking hours. He is working as long as he is conscious and frequently when he isn't.

To be alive is a fine thing. It is the finest thing in the world, though hazardous. It is a unique thing. It happens only once in a lifetime. To be alive, to know consciously that you are alive, and to relish that knowledge -- this is a kind of magic. Or it may be a kind of madness, exhilarating but harmless.

Writers should be read but not seen. Rarely are they a winsome sight.

A whole roomful of Jews is like a charged battery. The vitality sparks seem to fly, and frequently the result is a short circuit.

But almost any place is Baghdad if you don't know what will happen in it.

There are only two kinds of people in the world that really count. One kind's wheat and the other kind's emeralds.