Reasons always came with a purpose, to give the appearance of a struggle between principle and desire. Principle had power only until you found what you had to have.

You felt it as a depth of ease in certain boys, their innate, affable assurance that they would not have to struggle for a place in the world; that is already reserved for them.

One can imagine a world without essays. It would be a little poorer, of course, like a world without chess, but one could live in it.

When your power comes from others, on approval, you are their slave. Never sacrifice yourselves - never! Whoever urges you to self-sacrifice is worse than a common murderer, who at least cuts your throat himself, without persuading YOU to do it.

One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life by writing about them.

One of the last courses I taught was on the Russian short story, which I love.

Most of us dont live lives that lend themselves to novelistic expression, because our lives are so fragmented.