For a writer only one form of patriotism exists: his attitude toward language.

Were we to choose our leaders on the basis of their reading experience and not their political programs, there would be much less grief on earth. I believe ... that for someone who has read a lot of Dickens to shoot his like in the name of an idea is harder than for someone who has read no Dickens.

When Thomas Mann arrived in California from Germany, they asked him about German literature. And he said, 'German literature is where I am.' It's really a bit grand, but if a German can afford it, I can afford it.

The government, the state, they're just objects of jokes rather than serious consideration. I can't possibly take them seriously.

When I'm not writing or reading, I'm thinking about both.

...in the business of writing what one accumulates is not expertise but uncertainties. Which is but another name for craft.

In general, with things unpleasant, the rule is: The sooner you hit bottom, the faster you surface.