In 1957, I Decided: Write Or Perish.

I Don't Fear Death. I'm Not Obsessed With It The Way Everybody Else Seems To Be. It's Wrong To Say "everybody," But In Literature I See It All The Time - Preoccupation With It, Philosophical Preoccupation, In Fact. That's A Principle Element Of Literature And Philosophy, Often Cited As The Main Element, The Only Real Element. I Say Give It Up.

I'm A Frotteur, Someone Who Likes To Rub Words In His Hand, To Turn Them Around And Feel Them, To Wonder If That Really Is The Best Word Possible.

Why Is It So Difficult To Assemble Those Things That Really Matter In Life And To Dwell Among Them Only? I Am Referring To Certain Landscapes, Persons, Beasts, Books, Rooms, Meteorological Conditions, Fruits.

I Like Aristocracy. I Like The Beauty Of Aristocracy. I Like The Hierarchical Feeling.you Could Claim That It's Due To My Military Experience. But It Came Before That. I Love Their Freedom Of Behavior. They're Not Constrained By Penal Attitudes, Puritanical Attitudes About Behavior, Both Socially And Morally. They Have A Freedom That I Admire. An Unquestioned Freedom.

Events Need Their Invitation, Dissolutions Their Start.