"When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away."

"Claret is the liquor for boys; port, for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy"

"The more crap you believe, the better off you are."

"He asked, "What makes a man a writer?" "Well," I said, "it's simple. You either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge."

"There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay in there, I'm not going to let anybody see you."

"The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them."

"Find what you love and let it kill you."

"If you're losing your soul and you know it, then you've still got a soul left to lose"

"You have to die a few times before you can really live."

"What matters most is how well you walk through the fire"

"Scent, sound or sight, beneficent, malign – Who cares if you’re a blessing or a curse, So long as you bring light,"

"And over your unconsecrated head you'll hear the howling wolves lament their fate and yours the livelong year;"

"Nature is a word, an allegory, a mold, an embossing, if you will."

"Ant swarming City City full of dreams Where in broad day the specter tugs your sleeve"

"With wine, poetry, or virtue as you choose. But get drunk."

"So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, be endlessly drunk."

"A man must be forced to choose. It is only when you are forced to choose that you know what is important to you."

"You can do anything you want to do. What is rare is this actual wanting to do a specific thing: wanting it so much that you are practically blind to all other things, that nothing else will satisfy you,."

"> Why does everything that lives have to die? < So life would be precious, Asher. Something that is yours forever, is never precious."

"Millions of people can draw. Art is whether there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way."

"I won't talk to you about my family and you won't talk to me about yours. Family talk is either boring or self-pitying. Or it's Gothic, like a Faulkner novel. Who needs to talk about it? It's enough to live it."

"… the world will indulge you just so long Asher Lev. Then it will stop. You will simply have to grow accustomed to that truth."

"It's always easier to learn something than to use what you've learned. . . . You're alone when you're learning. But you always use it on other people. It's different when there are other people involved."

"It is when you are angry that you must watch how you talk."