All cultures have been mingled forever.

That element of surprise is what I look for when I am writing. It is my way of judging what I am doing - which is never an easy thing to do.

The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.

One isn’t born one’s self. One is born with a mass of expectations, a mass of other people’s ideas – and you have to work through it all.

Most people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision.

It is wrong to have an ideal view of the world. That's where the mischief starts. That's where everything starts unravelling.

The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.

Home is, I suppose just a child's idea. A house at night, and a lamp in the house. A place to feel safe.

One always writes comedy at the moment of deepest hysteria.

The world is always in movement.

All the details of the life and the quirks and the friendships can be laid out for us, but the mystery of the writing will remain. No amount of documentation, however fascinating, can take us there.

You think I'm prettyWithout any make-up onYou think I'm funnyWhen I tell the puch line wrongI know you get meSo I'll let my walls come down, down

I bet there are a lot of women out there who want to sleep with a guy who reads. And being the head of the reading foundation, I’m very well endowed.

The very best thing about dogs is how they just know when you need them most, and they’ll drop everything that they’re doing to sit with you awhile.

And all those who look down on me I'm tearing down your balcony.

I love the way I look. I'm fine with it. And if my body changes, I'll be fine with that.

I'm very emotional. I do feel stuff, for better or worse.

It's not just a song I sing with my hand raised but also with a billfold I've laid.

I am, as many people are, inspired by Jack Layton's legacy and the way that he approached politics.

I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a congress.

I wish we could just stay on the bandstand, it's so peaceful up here.