“yet if you had a desire for good or beautiful thingsand your tongue were not concocting some evil to sayshame would not hold down your eyesbut rather you would speak about what is just”

“their heart grew coldthey let their wings down”

“In fact she herself once blamed meKyprogeneiabecause I prayed this word:I want.”

“Eros, again now, the loosener of limbs troubles me,Bittersweet, sly, uncontrollable creature.”

“]Sardisoften turning her thoughts here]you like a goddessand in your song most of all she rejoiced.But now she is conspicuous among Lydian womenas sometimes at sunsetthe rosyfingered moonsurpasses ...”

“]sing to usthe one with violets in her lap]mostly]goes astray”

“To create art with all the passion in one's soul is to live art with all the beauty in one's heart.”

“art is risk made visible”

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

“Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.”

“Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.”

“So its true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.”

“If I ever saw my muse she would be an old woman with a tight bun and spectacles poking me in the middle of the back and growling, "Wake up and write the book!”

“To feed your Muse, then, you should always have been hungry about life since you were a child. If not, it is a little late to start.”

“Laughing in my ear is a muse amused by how I paint her whims on paper with silly words.”