The writers or artists I write about are not necessarily those I care most about (Shakespeare is still my favourite writer) but those whose work I feel has been neglected.

Everyone who lives in an industrialized society is obliged gradually to give up the past, but in certain countries, such as the United States and Japan, the break with the past has been particularly traumatic.

What I really wanted was every kind of life, and the writer’s life seemed the most inclusive.

There are some elements in life - above all, sexual pleasure - about which it isn't necessary to have a position.

Literature usually begets literature.

Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.

The hard truth is that what may be acceptable in elite culture may not be acceptable in mass culture, that tastes which pose only innocent ethical issues as the property of a minority become corrupting when they become more established. Taste is context, and the context has changed.