To marry the Irish is to look for poverty.

The purpose of writing is to make your mother and father drop dead with shame.

See all the women seated, youth in their face lifts, old age in their hands.

Rid the mind of knowledge when looking for pleasure. Or start thinking and find a lot of pain.

I remember one letter from a girl in a midwestern town who read one of my books and thought she had discovered it- that no one had ever read it or knew about it. Then one day in her local library she found cards for one or two of my other books. They were full of names- the books were borrowed all the time. She resented this a bit and then walked around the town looking in everybody's face and wondering if they were the ones who were reading my books. That is someone I write for.

To marry the Irish is to look for poverty.

I'm all for Christianity, but insolence must be put down.