American socialism had lost momentum even before the war. (Socialist leader Norman Thomas received 885, 000 votes in his 1932 run for the presidency, but only 187, 500 in 1936.)

To you I am neither man nor woman. I come before you as an author only. It is the sole standard by which you have a right to judge me--the sole ground on which I accept your judgment.

Life isn't filled with perfect harmony. The world is littered with bum notes, off-key moments and tuneless episodes. The trick is to find your own music, to ignore the discord and sing your own tune.

Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret.

Things are beautiful if you love them.

Tragedy is not what men suffer but what they miss.

Generally in New York, people just walk over you with no problem about that. Other countries, people want to resuscitate you, like, after a bit.

I regularly find myself waking up to art I passed by or simply ignored.

Always dream big dreams. Big dreams attract big people.

In 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important

The thought that my mother would suddenly be a foreigner would upset me very much.