Even a polemic has some justification if one considers that my own first poetic experiments began during a dictatorship and mark the origin of the Hermetic movement.

A poet clings to his own tradition and avoids internationalism.

The poet does not fear death, not because he believes in the fantasy of heroes, but because death constantly visits his thoughts and is thus an image of a serene dialogue.

The writer of stories or of novels settles on men and imitates them; he exhausts the possibilities of his characters.

War, I have always said, forces men to change their standards, regardless of whether their country has won or lost.

Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal but which the reader recognizes as his own.

Europeans know the importance of the Resistance; it has been the shining example of the modern conscience.

The antagonism between the poet and the politician has generally been evident in all cultures.

After the turbulence of death, moral principles and even religious proofs are called into question.

From the night, his solitude, the poet finds day and starts a diary that is lethal to the inert. The dark landscape yields a dialogue.

We wrote verses that condemned us, with no hope of pardon, to the most bitter solitude.

Your true character in life is your destiny.

You have to be happy with yourself first of all - that's the most important thing.

You need at this time especially to know that you are fit for something better than slavery and cannon fodder.

Focusnot on the rudeness of others,not on what they've done or left undone,but on what you have done and have not doneyourself.

Always making sure I'm clean. And that's truly what it's about. I think it's a lot of misconceptions about what a man is, what a thug is, and all that kind of stuff.

After a hit show is over, you soon realize this is a very tough business ... brutally tough. But I'm a better actor and I have more gravitas than I had at 24 with bleached-blonde hair.

I may lose a battle but I will never lose a minute.

I love the language. I'm just totally fascinated by the sound and the look of words and the kinds of cadences you can create with them, the various kinds of music.

You can't imagine how gratifying it is to have a reader come up to you and say, 'You changed my life.'

At a rehearsal I let the orchestra play as they like. At the concert I make them play as I like.