Clergyman's

“Approaching the Start of Civil ExamsPerhaps I was once a young Chinese scholarapproaching the start of civil exams,my mind grown weary and sad from seclusionwith books on syntax and poetic style.All that I knew were the mist-covered mountainsand sweet white blossoms of mountain applesthat grew in the valleys of my province.But I had been gone over six yearsbusy with studies in the Heavenly Cityempty and thin despite my work.I showed my verses to an older poetwho told me a truth I longed to believe:all knowledge is futile and barrenwhich does not open the love of your friends.”
— Jim Chapson

“If you believe that some opinions are in fact better than others, then you, too, are an elitist of sorts.”
— Michael Harris

“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.”
— Zadie Smith