Wordsworth was right when he said that we trail clouds of glory as we come into the world, that we are born with a divine sense of perception. As we grow older, the world closes in on us, and we gradually lose the freshness of viewpoint that we had as children. That is why I think children should get to know this country while they are young.

Are you proud of yourself tonight that you have insulted a total stranger whose circumstances you know nothing about?

I've been writing as long as I've been able to form words. I never wrote with an idea of publishing anything until I began working on '[To Kill a] Mockingbird'. I think that what went before may have been a rather subconscious form of learning how to write, of training myself.

It's not necessary to tell all you know.

He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets -

When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.