An artist is someone who cannot rest, who can never rest as long as there is one suffering creature in the world.

In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet…There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter…And each line has to end with a rigid pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet…But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants…You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.

Sometimes when we have to speak suddenly we come closer to the truth than when we have time to think.

The novelist helps us to see things we might not notice otherwise.

Truth is eternal. Knowledge is changeable. It is disastrous to confuse them.

Creativity comes from accepting that you're not safe, from being absolutely aware, and from letting go of control. It's a matter of seeing everything - even when you want to shut your eyes.

To share poetry is one of the most intimate acts of friendship possible.