“A writer is anyone who follows only the truth of who they are, without ever relying on anything other than the poverty and solitude of that truth. In this respect, children and women in love are bo...”

“Nothing is owed to us in life, not even the innocence of a blue sky. Great art is the art of thankfulness for the abundance of every moment. Writing is a Chinese variant of this thankfulness, a cou...”

“A painter is someone who wipes the windowpane between the world and us with light, with a rag made of light, soaked in silence.”

“In such blue beauty you sense the darkness into which the light will soon fall, and in this conjugal life of blue and black you find the one lesson of things that suits you, the proof of a certain ...”

“It is as if the angels had just done their laundry and, owning no other wealth than love, they are always clothed in the same light, worn transparent from so many washings.”

“You can tell who your friends are because they dont prevent you from being on your own, because they illuminate your solitude without interrupting it.”

“Maybe the difference between first marriage and second marriage is that the second time at least you know you are gambling.”

“If your brother can't 'old 'is own against a bunch of orphans, 'e'd best leave off playing 'azard altogether!”

“There is a lure in power. It can get into a man's blood just as gambling and lust for money have been known to do.”

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”

“If I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and t...”

“I'm an Earth ecstatic, and my creed is simple: All life is sacred, life loves life, and we are capable of improving our behavior toward one another. As basic as that is, for me it's also tonic and ...”