“Life is a lot more fragile than we think. So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets. Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.”

“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”

“Don’t romanticise your ‘vocation.’ You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no ‘writer’s lifestyle.’ All that matters is what you leave on the page.”

Zadie Smith, writer

“I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer”

Tahar Ben Jelloun, poet

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

-Plato, philosopher, Greek

“Never was there, perhaps, more hollowness at heart than at present, and here in the United States”

– Walt Whitman, poet, writer

“My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been”

Diane Arbu, photographer

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

Omar Khayyam, poet, astronomer

“What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.”