“I have always had the greatest respect for students. There is nothing I hate more than condescensionthe attitude that they are inferior to you. I always assume they have good minds.”

“For Tolstoy . . . anything that human beings do has its glory. . . . I think he can be said to have hated nothing that ever happened.”

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.”

“The job of the poet is to render the world - to see it and report it without loss, without perversion. No poet ever talks about feelings. Only sentimental people do.”

“Wit is the only wall Between us and the dark.”

“There is one thing we can do and the happiest people are those who do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can ... give all our attention to the o...”

“A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.”

“The uniqueness of different colours represents the uniqueness of individuals!”

“What exactly is it you'd like to know? [the book store manager asked]. He had an odd expression, like he was asking her a trick question. [Katherine] thought a minute. What DID she want to know? Wh...”

“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old”

“I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.”

“Each voice carries a portion of value, no matter how unpalatable or distasteful that voice may be: no one person, government, ideology, transnational, or religious institution can own and dominate ...”