...the tale that's told for no other reason but companionship, which is another (and my favorite) definition of literature, the tale that's told for companionship and to teach something religious, of religious reverence, about real life, in this real world which literature should (and here does) reflect.

We were on the roof of America and all we could do was yell

"What do you want out of life?" I asked, and I used to ask that all the time of girls.

I feel guilty for being a member of the human race.

It was my dream that screwed up, the stupid hearthside idea that it would be wonderful to follow one great red line across America instead of trying various roads and routes.

So long and take it easy, because if you start taking things seriously, it is the end of you.

Hell man, I know very well you didn't come to me only to want to become a writer, and after all what do I really know about it except that you've got to stick to it with the energy of a benny addict.