"Music never dies. Do we really need another Madonna tour? Does she have to compete with women performers 25 years her junior?"

"Madonna remains the most visible performer on the planet, as well as one of the wealthiest, but would anyone seriously say that artistic self-development is her primary motivating principle? She is too busy with Kabbalah, fashion merchandising, adoption melodramas, the gym, and ill-starred horseback riding to study art."

"Capitalism has its weaknesses. But it is capitalism that ended the stranglehold of the hereditary aristocracies, raised the standard of living for most of the world and enabled the emancipation of women."

"In an era ruled by materialism and unstable geopolitics, art must be restored to the center of public education."

"Ancient recipients of instant news probably couldn't do very much about it, for instance. Xerxes would still need three months to get his army together, and he might not get home for years."

"Rationalism is the enemy of art, though necessary as a basis for architecture."

"I got a lovely check today from being a writer that I earned by sitting at home. That's rewarding."

"Fear will knock at every door; only those with resolved hearts refuse to let it enter."