We get so caught up in what a man isn't. It's what he is that counts.

Self-consciousness is really a form of egotism.

The last time you're doing something - knowing you're doing it for the last - makes it even more alive than the first.

There is a problem in America. An Irish or Polish American can write a story and it's an American story. When a Black American writes a story, it's called a Black story. I take exception to that. Every artist has articulated to his own experience. The problem is that some people do not see Blacks as Americans.

One should be able to return to the first sentence of a novel and find the resonances of the entire work.

A myth is more powerful - and more lasting - than reality.

Time is a funny thing. I was always puzzled with the way a single day could stretch itself out to the point of eternity in your mind, all while years melted down into the fraction of a second.