Poetry is not a matter of feelings, it is a matter of language. It is language which creates feelings.

And so I fell devoutly asleep and slept a long time, because young people seem to need sleep more than the old, who have already slept so much and are preparing to sleep for all eternity.

I'm always fascinated by losers. Also, in my "Foucault's Pendulum," the main characters, who are in a way losers, they are more interesting than the winners.

I developed a passion for the Middle Ages the same way some people develop a passion for coconuts.

I don't want to write a novel per year. I know that I need a break of one or two years. So maybe I invent some new, urgent activity so I don't fall into the trap of starting a new novel.

What we honor as prudence in our elders is simply panic in action.

Libraries can take the place of God.