"Navigating without a compass, which is to say, without a clear idea of what is right and what is wrong, is a dangerous business."

"A writer's life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity."

"Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another."

"The best art is political and you ought to be able to make it unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time."

"The function of freedom is to free someone else."