Punctuation is a deeply conservative club. It hardly ever admits a new member.

Something there is in cyberspace that doesn't love an apostrophe.

Why, if there is alphabet soup, do we not have punctuation cereal?

The English language is full of words that are just waiting to be misspelled, and the world is full of sticklers, ready to pounce.

The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around.

Commas, like nuns, often travel in pairs.

Everybody is a writer. Everybody uses e-mail and has Facebook pages and tweets.

The comma, if it's left out, sometimes can be a problem. There's a slogan on a T-shirt going around that "Let's Eat, Grandma," and "Let's Eat Grandma."

There is a phase in the life of every copy editor when she is obsessed with hyphens.

On the printed page, it's best to have everything - you know, to still mind your P's and Q's, dot your I's and cross your T's, yes.

Nobody knows everything-one of the pleasures of language is that there is always something new to learn-and everybody makes mistakes.

It is better to be a true disciple than a false follower.

I shall not repent of my faith.

Even if I did have, you know, a 'Sports Illustrated' body, I'd still wear elegant clothes.

There are certain comforts of living here in Dubai, the comforts of so many mosques and so much good food... It's just that much more secure. And may God keep it safe.

Indeed upon much that may have to say, I expect rather the charitable judgment than the full assent of those whose approbation I could most wish to win.

Writing a poem ... is a kind of possible love affair between something like the heart (that courageous but also shy factory of emotion) and the learned skills of the conscious mind.

He speaks truly who speaks the shade.

There are a lot of drivers who can carry a car. It doesn't happen very often very successfully. I think it takes a certain amount of sensible bravery. It's no good to be brave and just keep crashing.

Believe me, no civilized man ever regrets a pleasure, and no uncivilized man ever knows what a pleasure is.

You know, real life doesn't just suddenly resolve itself. You have to keep working at it.