Crooked cards and straight whiskey, Slow horses and fast women.

Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense: The creative act.

Maturity is having the ability to escape categorization.

The holiness of the real Is always there, accessible In total immanence. The nodes Of transcendence coagulate In you, the experiencer, And in the other, the lover.

There have always been those who, though they see tragedy as the outcome of freedom, will nevertheless judge that tragedy is not too high a price to pay.

You don't become a saint until you lead a good life whether in Tibet or Italy or America.

The meaning of life can be revealed but never explained.

It takes great labor to uncover the convincing simple speech of the heart. Poetic candor comes with hard labor, so even does impetuosity and impudence.

Man thrives where angels would die of ecstasy and where pigs would die of disgust.

You learn nothing if you carry with you a journalistic system of values, which is invented to save reporters from experience.

Poetry has ceased to be a public art and has become, as Whitehead said of religion, "What man does with his aloneness.

To everyone battling a difficulty or under attack right now, smile, keep your head up, keep moving and stay positive, you'll get through it.

Around our enthusiasm, are the ways to surround our destinies.

If I've been accused a number of times of writing plays where the endings are ambivalent, indeed, that's the way I find life.

Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life

The thought of my mortality - I think about it a lot. I find it motivating. It can be any time that your number's up.

Yes, America is gigantic, but a gigantic mistake.

All great undertakings are achieved through mighty obstacles. Keep up the deepest mental poise. Take not even the slightest notice of what puerile creatures may be saying against you.

I have this complicated procedure I go through every morning, which is to look in the mirror and decide what I'm going to do. And I feel at that point, everybody's had their say.