Edmund White

Nothing lasts in New York. The life that is lived there, however, is as intense as it gets.

Paris can be like the land of the Lotus-Eaters. You can't leave.

I always feel I'm better known in England than I am here in the U.S. Americans don't read that much, and the French are very good at knowing the names of everybody.

You don't work on something for six years and be blind to the myriad of other approaches.

When I do my makeup, it kind of helps me get into the character that I'm trying to portray.

Everything for me becomes allegory.