My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find out how they have

An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself.

Writing for the theater, you find yourself living a nocturnal life

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that would never have occurred to me dead sober.

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house, and a style of living that never lets you aford the time to take the chance to write what you wish.

If football players were armed with guns, there wouldn't be stadiums large enough to hold the crowds.

I look at everything. God gave me eyes and I look at women and men and subway excavations and moving pictures and the little flowers of the field. I casually inspect the universe.