Not a moment passes these days without fresh rushes of academic lemmings off the cliffs they proclaim the political responsibilities of the critic, but eventually all this moralizing will subside.

Reading well makes children more interesting both to themselves and others, a process in which they will develop a sense of being separate and distinct selves.

There is no method except yourself.

The art and passion of reading well and deeply is waning, but [Jane] Austen still inspires people to become fanatical readers.

The world gets older, without getting either better or worse and so does literature. But I do think that the drab current phenomenon that passes for literary studies in the university will finally provide its own corrective.

The very best of all Merwin: I have been reading William since 1952, and always with joy.

I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.