“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth. For nothing is more precious than the life force and may the love of that force guide you as you go.”

“I have loved books all my life. There is nothing more beautiful in our material world than the book.”

“Please, no matter how we advance in technology please don't abandon the book-there is nothing in our material world more beautiful than a book.”

“Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don't abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book."(Acceptance speech, National Book Award 2010 (Nonfiction), November 17, 2010)”

“I got over the loss of his desk and chair, but never the desire to produce a string of words more precious than the emeralds of Cortés.”

“Angel looks down at him and says, “Oh, pretty boy, Can't you show me nothing but surrender?”

“When we got to the part where we had to improvise an argument in a poetic language, I got cold feet. "I can't do this," I said. "I don't know what to say.""Say anything," he said. "You can't make a mistake when you improvise.""What if I mess it up? What if I screw up the rhythm?""You can't," he said. "It's like drumming. If you miss a beat, you create another."In this simple exchange, Sam taught me the secret of improvisation, one that I have accessed my whole life.”