To see the beauty of the world is to put your hands on lines that run uninterrupted through life and through death. Touching them is an act of hope, for perhaps someone on the other side, if there is another side, is touching them, too.
Mark HelprinI'm sort of murdered for selling books. The idea is, if you make money your work can't be literary.
Mark HelprinWhy do people resist [engines, bridges, and cities] so? They are symbols and products of the imagination, which is the force that ensures justice and historical momentum in an imperfect world, because without imagination we would not have the wherewithal to challenge certainty, and we could never rise above ourselves.
Mark HelprinHe felt as if he were paying for the privilege of music with portions of his life and body. But it was well worth it.
Mark Helprin