Literature Quotes

"The written word is humanity's greatest achievement."

"I wanted to write a great novel about the conditions under which working people lived."

"Books are mirrors of the soul, and reading them changes who we are."

"The task of the writer is to voice the voiceless."

"Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood."

"The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he really is very good—in spite of all the people who say he is very good."

"Poetry is not a career, but a mug's game."

"The purpose of literature is the infusion of wisdom, the instruction of life."

"If you want to know more about an author, do not read his books—read a biography."

"The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink."

"The purpose of poetry is a place where the human spirit can rest."

"Poetry is not meant to be dead on the page."

"The writer's task is to reveal the hidden patterns of human existence."

"In the ordinary lives extraordinary stories wait to be told."

"A poet is a light and winged and holy thing."

"Literature is news that STAYS news."

"The book is the only medium left that hasn't been corrupted by advertising."

"Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree."

"The lyric basis of all poetry is the self."

"The supreme test of a poem is that it change nothing and everything."

"A writer's fundamental job is to understand the human heart."

"The test of literature is whether it can be read with pleasure."

"The power of the written word is immeasurable."

"I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear readers, are an afterthought."

"Remarks are not literature."

"In writing, in the way I write, the protagonist is always the world."

"I write in order that my fellow citizens may be able to see what is really going on in their country."

"I believe in the power of the written word to change minds and transform society."

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures."

"Literature is the voice of humanity speaking across time."