John Ciardi

"A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea."

"Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves that they have a better idea."

"Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope."

"Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old."