He was one of those rare men who are capable of being fully in love only once in their lives.

Losing prepares you for the heartbreak, setback, and the tragedy that you will encounter in the world more than winning ever can. By licking your wounds you learn how to avoid getting wounded the next time.

Good writing ... involves the agony of turning profoundly difficult thoughts into lucid form, then forcing them into the tight-fitting uniform of language, making them visible and clear.

The pursuit of greatness means that laziness has no place in your life.

Looking around, I thought the human species was in fine shape and tried to think of something more beautiful than women and couldn't come up with a thing. The propagation of the species was a dance of total joy.

Reading is the most rewarding form of exile and the most necessary discipline for novelists who burn with the ambition to get better.

In Charleston, more than elsewhere, you get the feeling that the twentieth century is a vast, unconscionable mistake.