Derivative writers seem versatile because they imitate many others, past and present. Artistic originality has only itself to copy.
Vladimir NabokovTo play safe, I prefer to accept only one type of power: the power of art over trash, the triumph of magic over the brute.
Vladimir NabokovI think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child.... My hemmings and hawings over the telephone cause long-distance callers to switch from their native English to pathetic French. At parties, if I attempt to entertain people with a good story, I have to go back to every other sentence for oral erasures and inserts.... In these circumstances nobody should ask me to submit to an interview if by "interview" a chat between two normal human beings is implied.
Vladimir Nabokov