The best prose is written by authors who see their universe with a poet’s eyes.

Definite gifts render their possessors capable of overcoming any obstacle this side of death; they create an impetus of far more genuine value than external advantages in some other career where the impulse to make use of them remains weak or non-existent. The work that one enjoys is the greatest source of happiness and vitality in life.

few things are more rewarding than a child's open uncalculating devotion.

The joys of motherhood are not excessively apparent during the first few weeks of a baby's life.

An author who waits for the right 'mood' will soon find that 'moods' get fewer and fewer until they cease altogether.

Venice is all sea and sculpture.

I thought that spring must last forevermore, For I was young and loved, and it was May.