Norman Mailer

"Picasso had a phrase - 'good artists copy, great artists steal' - I think what he meant was that the great artist doesn't invent a new thing, he steals the best."

"Writing books is the closest thing to teaching that I know."

"A little paranoia is good for the soul."

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places."

"Sex is the last refuge of the abandoned."

"I would argue that nothing gives life its form but death."

"The essence of camp is the spirit of extravagance."

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to obtain the necessities of life, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny."

"Being a woman is worse than being a man. It's harder."

"The truth sits at the window."

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one most responsive to change."

"Talent is like a faucet - while it is open, you have to write."

"I have a terrible confession to make - I like to drink gin in the morning."

"The modern mind is in complete disarray."

"Civilization is built on a number of uncomfortable premises."

"Every moment is a door to any other moment."

"One cannot direct the wind, but one can adjust the sails."

"We murder to dissect."

"The saddest thing about any man is that he is invariably loses."

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

"Adventure is worthwhile - that is the motto of the soul."

"The novel is alive - it breathes."

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, but we still need power."

"Love is a becoming, not a state."

"The best way to understand a society is to study its wars."

"I think there's a real rhythm to the work - you can't push it."

"Money is like manure - you have to spread it around or it smells."

"Existential terror is when you realize you might die without having lived."

"The artist must be able to live on very little air."

"We're all living in a terrible age - if you know how to look at it."