Religion is the opium of the poor.

I decided to stop drinking with creeps. I decided to drink only with friends. I've lost 30 pounds.

A writer is like a gypsy. He owes no allegiance to any government. If he is a good writer he will never like any government he lives under. His hand should be against it and its hand will always be against him.

Fish," the old man said. "Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?

It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people.

You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again.

Don't you like to write letters? I do because it's such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you've done something.