An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.

That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any.

I told her I loved her and all. It was a lie, of course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it. I'm crazy. I swear to God I am.

Oh, I don’t know. That digression business got on my nerves. I don’t know. The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It’s more interesting and all.

I prayed for the city to be cleared of people, for the gift of being alone—a-l-o-n-e: which is the one New York prayer that rarely gets lost or delayed in channels, and in no time at all everything I touched turned to solid loneliness.

How old are you? I asked her. "Old enough to know better." she said.

In every school I've gone to, all the athletic bastards stick together.