Italo Calvino

Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world.

I write by hand, making many, many corrections. I would say I cross out more than I write. I have to hunt for words when I speak, and I have the same difficulty when writing.

A human being becomes human not through the casual convergence of certain biological conditions, but through an act of will and love on the part of other people.

I now know how to steal a watch when someone's wearing it. It's an excellent talent to have.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

Sigmund Freud was very much a creature of his time. He did not 'invent' the unconscious.