“Music could ache and hurt, that beautiful music was a place a suffering man could hide.”

“Carolina beach music," Dupree said, coming up on the porch. "The holiest sound on earth.”

“Fantasy is one of the soul's brighter porcelains.”

“Writing poetry and reading books causes brain damage.”

“It's politics . . . It makes everybody stupid. When you grow up, you'll know what I mean.”

“The pursuit of greatness means that laziness has no place in your life.”

“You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.”

“It is easier to write a book with footnotes than the same book written so that children can understand it.”

“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”