... liberal intellectualstend to have a classical theory of politics, in which the state has a monopoly of power; hoping thatthose in positions of authority may prove to be enlightened men, wielding power justly, they are natural, if cautious, allies of the "establishment.

I do not think white America is committed to granting equality to the American Negro... this is a passionately racist country; it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.

Any important disease whose causality is murky, and for which treatment is ineffectual, tends to be awash in significance.

I'm interested in the possibility of fiction which straddles narrative and essay.

The single most amazing phenomenon is the discrediting of idealism.

The public voice in the theater today is crude and raucous, and, all too often, weak-minded.

A great writer has all 4 - but you can still be a good writer with only 1 and 2.