“Why one enjoys maternal grandparents more than the paternal ones, i have never understood, but it was like that for me.”

“One needs longing to live and enemies make one long for them.”

“His failure became my destiny”

“He is too presumptuous about the inanities of appearances, poor realities gone for a toss.”

“History tells creativity is a result of Soul song.”

“The words explain us all, each having a meaning in a meantime: every time for a lifetime.”

“Sometimes two people have to fall apart, to realize how much they need to fall back together.”

“Good literature is one key to peace. When we stop reading each other, when we stop paying attention to each other's words and stories, we too easily oppose one another.”

“There is only one motive for writing a novel: to be published and read. To me there is no distinction between the mystery novel and the novel, only between good books and bad books. A good book tak...”

“Protesters are still on the fringes like satellites, revolving around the system. But prophets and poets lead us into a new world, beyond simply yelling at the old one.”

“Why do I write? Out of fear. Out of fear that the memory of the people I write about might go lost. Out of fear that the memory of myself might get lost. Or even just to be shielded by a story, to ...”

“They say that it is always poets that die in wars, and I never got over a sense of being in the trenches.”