Crushed to earth and rising again is an author's gymnastic. Once he fails to struggle to his feet and grab his pen, he will contemplate a fact he should never permit himself to face: that in all probability books have been written, are being written, will be written, better than anything he has done, is doing, or will do.

The creative writer is usually captive to his next book.

[Wishing her mother had named her Beulah:] At least you did not sit on your beulah.

A woman has to be twice as good as a man to go half as far.

It takes a clever man to turn cynic and a wise man to be clever enough not to.

There is no adequate definition for creative writing, any more than it is possible to describe pain or flavor or color.

The literary wiseacres prognosticate in many languages, as they have throughout so many centuries, setting the stage for new hautmonde in letters and making up the public's mind.