Literature

“The great big public thinks of poetry, particularly modern poetry, as something highbrow.”

“The Gospels captivated my heart and mind.”

“I revere the memory of Pope, I respect and honour his abilities; but I do not think him at the head of his profession.”

“I believe there is something that can be passed between writers, between generations—that changes in time but not in essentials.”

“文以载道，儒者无不能言之。”

“六经皆史也。”

“Našel jsem tu Válku s mloky. K Čapkovi jsem měl vždycky blízko.”

“My chief pleasure has been books.”

“The link between the two is that you have to be very careful with the text, and that you can respond to a text in various ways.”

“Literature begins with that “why,” even if we were to answer that question over and over with an ordinary “I don’t know.””

“La literatura refleja las ideas vigentes en una sociedad, y es expresión de ella.”

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

“I credit poetry, in other words, both for being itself and for being a help.”

“فإن بيتا بغير كتب هو بيت بغير فكر.. أى بيت بلا روح، والمقابر هو المكان الوحيد الذى يخلو من الكتب.”

“La poesía es respiración y silencio.”

“We cannot do without Urdu.”

“لستُ أهوى القراءةَ لأكتبَ، ولا أهوى القراءةَ لأزدادَ عُمُرًا في تقديرِ الحسابِ، وإنما أهوى القراءةَ؛ لأنَّ عندي حياةً واحدةً في هذه الدنيا وحياةً واحدةً لا تكفيني.”

“I believe that the sentimental has a place in poetry.”

“The most important thing is that I'm writing in Irish Gaelic.”

“In the case of history what matters is its meaning; its medium is events, and its vehicle is literature.”