It's a question of not copying the masters, to look for something, good or bad, for oneself. To enter this liberated state of mind, one cannot copy the others.

It's the duty of all novelists, all painters, all musicians, all people who try to make art move: to look for something they feel authentically, without paying attention to styles.

One can't write for all readers. A poet cannot write for people who don't like poetry.

The reader has to be creative when he's reading. He has to try to make the thing alive. A good reader has to do a certain amount of work when he is reading.

One can't write without having read - you have to read before beginning to write - and universities offer a very good opportunity to read.

To copy others is necessary, but to copy oneself is pathetic.