Writing is prayer. - Franz Kafka

"We are sinful not only because we have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, but also because we have not yet eaten of the Tree of Life. The state in which we are is sinful, irrespective of guilt."

"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us."

"Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself."

"Evil does not exist; once you have crossed the threshold, all is good. Once in another world, you must hold your tongue."

"I need solitude for my writing; not 'like a hermit' - that wouldn't be enough - but like a dead man."