“Don't bow down to critics who have not themselves written great masterpieces.”

“Pay no attention to the criticism of men who have never themselves written a notable work. --Ezra Pound”

“Great books write themselves, only bad books have to be written.”

“By a curious confusion, many modern critics have passed from the proposition that a masterpiece may be unpopular to the other proposition that unless it is unpopular it cannot be a masterpiece.”

“He made writing look easy and critics hate that. They like evidence of a struggle, of creative agony, wringing the masterpiece out of one’s guts. After all, most critics think of themselves as writers, or had attempted to become writers. This leads to the bizarre situation in which failed writers pass judgment on writers who actually write for a living.”

“Jonah peered critically up at the Renaissance masterpiece. "Man, those copies don't due it justice. This one's the truth!""Only a Janus," groaned Hamilton.”