We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.

Mark Twain was so good with crowds that he became, in competition with singers and dancers and actors and acrobats, one of the most popular performers of his time. It is so unusual, and so psychologically unlikely, too, for a great writer to be a great performer, too.

Don't put anything into a story that does not reveal character or advance the action.

The master of ceremonies asked people to say what they thought the function of the novel might be in modern society, and one critic said, “To provide touches of color in rooms with all-white walls.” Another one said, “To describe blow-jobs artistically.

Because of the movies nobody will believe that it was babies who fought the war.

Take it from somebody who has been around for a million years: When you get right down to it, food is practically the whole story every time.

[Ayres] was our city because we were building it. That's how I felt when I walked around town.