“Art is the bridge across the gap between peoples and cultures. Writing is one of the arts that can help link people.”

“To my mind, nothing is as important as good writing, because in literature, the walls between people and cultures are broken down, and the things that plague us most—suspicion and fear of the other, and the tendency to see whole groups of people as objects, as monoliths of one cultural stereotype or another—are defeated. This work is not done as a job, ladies and gentlemen, it is done out of love for the art and the artists who brought it forth, and who still bring it forth to us, down the years and across ignorance and chaos and borderlines.”

“A really well-made buttonhole is the only link between Art and Nature.”

“All writing, all art, is an act of faith. If one tries to contribute to human understanding, how can that be called decadent? It’s like saying a declaration of love is an act of decadence. Any work of art, provide it springs from a sincere motivation to further understanding between people, is an act of faith and therefore is an act of love.”

“There's a gap as deep as a canyon between how you come across to people and the way you are on the inside.”

“Painting relates to both art and life. Neither can be made. I try to act in that gap between the two.- 1959, from a catalogue”