"What does Christmas mean if we can't encourage small children to sit on a stranger's lap?"

“I wish I knew all the answers, how to be perfect, attractive and witty. But I'm just a human being with all the regular faults and it seems no matter how hard I try, I can't change that.”

“My whole head is like I've had a face lift.”

“I do labor - it's part of the process. Writing is no easier today than it was in the beginning: writing well is very hard to do. Always.”

“Among the heaps of brick and plaster lies/ a girder, still itself among the rubbish”

Source : Charles Reznikoff, Seamus Cooney (2005). “The Poems of Charles Reznikoff: 1918-1975”, p.107, David R. Godine Publisher

“Doubt can motivate you, so don't be afraid of it. Confidence and doubt are at two ends of the scale, and you need both. They balance each other out.”

Source : "Barbra Streisand: The Legend" by Sheila Weller, www.glamour.com. October 30, 2013.

“Opinions are like nipples, everybody has one. Some have firm points, others are barely discernible through layers, and some are displayed at every opportunity regardless of whether the audience has stated "I am interested in your nipples" or not.”

“If we were in the habit of reading poets their obscurity would not matter; and, once we are out of the habit, their clarity does not help.”

“Personally, I am convinced the human personality does survive the change which we call death. Although we have no scientific evidence of this at present, there is no reason to suppose it will always be lacking.”