"I think the tragic feeling is invoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life, if need be, to secure one thing -- his sense of personal dignity."

“Humans always have fear of an unknown situation -- this is normal. The important thing is what we do about it. If fear is permitted to become a paralyzing thing that interferes with proper action, then it is harmful. The best antidote to fear is to know all we can about a situation.”

“All pleasure in the world is a passing dream.”

“Power has to be insecure to be responsive.”

“Elections determine who is in power, but they do not determine how power is used.”

Source : Paul Collier (2007). “The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It”, p.147, Oxford University Press on Demand

“In a given scene I may know nothing more than how it's supposed to end, most of the time not even that. Scenes are improvised. A character does or says something, and with as much spontaneity and schizophrenia as I can muster, another character responds. In this way, everything I write is spontaneous chain reaction and I'm running around playing leapfrog in my brain trying to "be" all my people.”

“I'm convinced being a tennis analyst is the easiest job in the world.”

Source : "U.S. Open: Roddick Speaks" by Reeves Wiedeman, www.newyorker.com. September 1, 2011.

“I, myself, was always recognized . . . as the “slow one” in the family. It was quite true, and I knew it and accepted it. Writing and spelling were always terribly difficult for me. My letters were without originality. I was . . . an extraordinarily bad speller and have remained so until this day.”

“The choice between starving and being eaten is an exotic one.”