A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the read more

A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.

Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure read more

Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he envisaged or planned.

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, read more

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.

The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.

The true function of a writer is to produce a masterpiece and no other task is of any consequence.

The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is read more

The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power.

Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.

Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.

Writers write to influence their readers, their preachers, their auditors, but always, at bottom, to be more themselves.

Writers write to influence their readers, their preachers, their auditors, but always, at bottom, to be more themselves.

I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning

I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning

A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a read more

A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys.