I know there are supposedly happy people in this world. I never believed it, but I take it for granted. God knows, they're all on television.

I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance around who could advise me, and I did the best I could.

Childhood is a tricky business. Usually, something goes wrong.

Sendak is in search of what he calls a "yummy death". William Blake set the standard, jumping up from his death bed at the last minute to start singing. "A happy death," says Sendak. "It can be done." He lifts his eyebrows to two peaks. "If you're William Blake and totally crazy.

I don't know how to write a children's book.

You can't get rid of evil. We can't, and I feel that so intensely.

I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more.