#paraphrased

"I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief... I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important, such as life is immensely valuable and this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place. We should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world.[Washington Post interview, 19 February 2001]"

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

"We have seen the best minds of our generation destroyed by boredom at poetry readings."

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

"What's in a name, anyway? That which we call a nose by any other name would still smell."

"What doesn't kill us makes us funnier."

"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."

"Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"