Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.

All art emulates the condition of ritual. That is what it comes from and to that it must always return for nourishment.

There is no such thing as a lost cause, because there is no such thing as a gained cause

To country people Cows are mild, And flee from any stick they throw; But I’m a timid town bred child, And all the cattle seem to know.

We must always take risks. That is our destiny.

We read many books, because we cannot know enough people.

The river itself has no beginning or end. In its beginning, it is not yet the river; in the end it is no longer the river. What we call the headwaters is only a selection from among the innumerable sources which flow together to compose it. At what point in its course does the Mississippi become what the Mississippi means?