“Acceptance is the truest kinship with humanity.”

“There is nothing the matter with Americans except their ideals. The real American is all right it is the ideal American who is all wrong.”

“Artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs.”

“The perplexity of life arises from there being too many interesting things in it for us to be interested properly in any of them.”

“Men always talk about the most important things to perfect strangers.”

“The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.”

“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.”

“Im not a woman you bring home to Mother, pick out china patterns with, or Mary forefend, breed. Ive seen a chunk of the universe, true, but theres still so much more to see. I doubt Ill ever cure t...”

“My hope, my heaven, my trust must be,My gentle guide, in following thee.”

“Amory took to writing poetry on spring afternoons, in the gardens of the big estates near Princeton, while swans made effective atmosphere in the artificial pools, and slow clouds sailed harmonious...”