"Iraqis don't trust one another, parties and ministries are run by sects and not by functionaries."

“Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the riddle.”

“When I was younger I did karate and martial arts, and I think it's really cool for girls to have those kinds of abilities.”

“All writers behave badly. All people behave badly.”

Source : "Claire Tomalin: 'Writing induces melancholy. You're alone, a hermit'". Interview with Rachel Cooke, www.theguardian.com. September 24, 2011.

“The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself.”

Source : pauline kael (1965). “i lost it at the movies”

“I was taken by William Burroughs’ presence and intelligence from the first time I was introduced to him, by Lester Bangs in 1975. He was thrilling to listen to. When you heard him speak, you felt that you were privy to such a rare mind. Even in small-talk, he spoke with perfect economy of language. His shoots with me were very collaborative and it was an incredible opportunity to be able to photograph him over the course of twenty years.”

“We are chained to that which we do not forgive”

“Be surprised at nothing. Let peace and stillness flood through you and envelop you completely in its cloak. Put on the whole armor of love - and yet feel, feel very deeply. Let tears flow, washing away impurities until you feel clean within and clean without. Become like an empty vessel ready to be filled with life's nectar.”

“If writers possess a common temperament, it's that they tend to be shy egomaniacs; publicity is the spotlight they suffer for the recognition they crave.”

Source : Gail Caldwell (2010). “Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship”, p.17, Random House