“As we live we all get caught and torn by various traps. Writing can trap you. Some writers tend to write what has pleased their readers in the past. They hear accolades and believe them. There’s only one final judge of writing, and that is the Writer. When he is swayed by the critics, the editors, the publishers, the readers; then he is finished. And, of course, when he is swayed with his fame and his fortune, you can float him down the river with the turds.”

“The racetrack crowd is the world brought down to size, life grinding against death and losing. Nobody wins finally, we are just seeking a reprieve, a moment out of the glare.”

Chinaski: You married, Manny? Manny: No way, no. Chinaski: Women? Manny: Sometimes. It never lasts. Chinaski: What’s the problem? Manny: A woman is like a fulltime job. You have to choose your profession. Chinaski: Yeah, I suppose there is an emotional drain. Manny: Physical too. They want to fuck night and day. Chinaski: Well, get one you like to fuck. Manny: Yeah, but if you drink or gamble they think it’s a put down of their love. Chinaski: Well, get one who likes to drink, gamble and fuck. Manny: Who wants a woman like that?

“A poem is a city filled with streets and sewers. Filled with saints, heros, beggars, madmen. Filled with banality and booze. Filled with rain and thunder and periods of drought. A poem is a city of war. It’s a barbershop filled with cynical drunks. A poem is a city. A poem is a nation. A poem is the world.”

“If you are going to try, go all the way. Otherwise don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs. And Maybe your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery, isolation. Isolation is the gift. All others are a test of your endurance. Of how much you really want to do it. And you’ll do it, despite rejection in the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods. And the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”