“As the death of the writer exaggerates the role of his work, the death of a person exaggerates the role of his effect on us.”

“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

“The moral duty of the free writer is to begin his work at home: to be a critic of his own community, his own country, his own government, his own culture. The more freedom the writer possesses, the greater the moral obligation to play the role of critic.”

“the writer:"a spy sent into life by the forces of death. His main objective is to get the information across the border, back into death. Then he can be given a mythic personality: 'he spent time among us, betrayed us, and took the material across the border.”

“I’m always scared to death that I won’t do a role justice. But fear can be a great motivator.”

“The weeping willows, on the other hand, are evocative of death. They are a little contrived, a little exaggerated, still green in the middle of all the colors of autumn, and there is a human pathos to them.”