Quotations

"You are fettered, said Scrooge, trembling. Tell me why?"
I wear the chain I forged in life, replied the Ghost. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."

— Charles Dickens, English author, born 1812

"What a view, I said again. The river was blank and mindless with beauty. It was the most glorious thing I have ever seen. But it was not seeing, really. For once it was not just seeing. It was beholding. I beheld the river in its icy pit of brightness, in its far-below sound and indifference, in its large coil and tiny points and flashes of the moon, in its long sinuous form, in its uncomprehending consequence."

— James Dickey, American poet, born 1923

"A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning."

— James Dickey, American poet, born 1923

"A talk show host once asked the actress Angie Dickinson whether she dressed for men or for women. Her answer: I dress for women. I undress for men."

— Angie Dickinson, American actress, born 1931

"Forever is composed of nows."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"The poet lights the light and fades away. But the light goes on and on."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"I dwell in possibility."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"A wounded deer leaps the highest."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"I hope you love birds, too. It is economical. It saves going to Heaven."

— Emily Dickinson, American poet, born 1830

"Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast."

— Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress, born 1901

"Most women set out to try to change a man, and when they have changed him they do not like him."

— Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress, born 1901

"In language, gender is particularly confusing. Why, please, should a table be male in German, female in French, and castrated in English?"

— Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress, born 1901