I'm an American, and always will be. I happen to love that big, awkward, sprawling country very much — and its big, awkward, sprawling people. The Paris Review interview (1958)
The perfect ideal would be that a man who is essentially nonviolent would be able to defend himself against any form of violence. But this is very rare in life. The Paris Review interview (1958)
You have to really work at it to write. I guess there has to be talent first; but even with talent you still have to work at it, to write. The Paris Review interview (1958)
But the thing is that Fatso doesn't even know why he is being killed; and when Prewitt sees that, he realizes what a fruitless thing he has done. The Paris Review interview (1958)
I've made some strides in trying to understand myself, I think. And I think that in my life I'm less afraid of being thought a coward than I used to be. The Paris Review interview (1958)