Avoid kneeling in unheated stone churches. Ecclesiastical dampness causes prematurely grey hair.

Falsehood is a critical element in fiction. Part of the thrill of being told a story is the chance of being hoodwinked. . .The telling of lies is a sort of sleight of hand that displays our deepest feelings about life.

To be an American and unable to play baseball is comparable to being a Polynesian and unable to swim.

Avoid kneeling in unheated stone churches. Ecclesiastical dampness causes prematurely grey hair.

The irony of Christmas is always upon the poor in heart; the mystery of the solstice is always upon the rest of us.

Fiction must compete with first-rate reporting. If you cannot write a story that is equal to a factual account of battle in the streets or demonstrations, then you can't write a story.

For me a page of good prose is where one hears the rain. A page of good prose is when one hears the noise of battle.... A page of good prose seems to me the most serious dialogue that well-informed and intelligent men and women carry on today in their endeavor to make sure that the fires of this planet burn peaceably.