Long before I was a success, my parents made me feel like I could be one.

...when the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier -- that only birds and planes could fly -- he lost all interest in himself.

Definitions belong to the definer, not the defined.

Life that crawled, life that slunk and crept and never closed its eyes. Life that burrowed and scurried, and life so still it was indistinguishable from the ivy stems on which it lay. Birth, life, and death - each took place on the hidden side of a leaf.

In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.

The difference between that which is humane and that which is patriotic is a vital difference.

We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.