A. E. Housman
A. E. Housman

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out... Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

A. J. Liebling
A. J. Liebling

No sane man can afford to dispense with debilitating pleasures. No ascetic can be considered reliably sane.

A. James Clark
A. James Clark

Ben Rome was a perfectionist. He checked every letter that went out to make sure the English was correct.

A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson

It seems astonishing to be paid for indulging in pure pleasure. For me to go to Coburg is rather as if a trainspotter was sent for a few weeks to Swindon or a chocoholic asked on holiday by Green and Black.

A. P. Herbert
A. P. Herbert

I am sure that the party system is right and necessary. There must be some scum.

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman

My mother insisted that I pursue music. I rented out my father's musical equipment and earned some money. As a child, I wasn't sure about a career goal, but I was always fascinated by electronic gadgets, specially musical equipment.

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman

I have too many responsibilities and principles. There's no time for 'guilty' pleasures.

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman

I usually work on a film soundtrack for two years, turning in a song every few months, and that keeps my creative energy high, because I'm constantly rotating projects. The trick is to make sure I don't work too hard and get exhausted.

A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman

The more I compose, the more I know that I don't know it all. I think it's a good way to start. If you think you know it all, the work becomes a repetition of what you've already done. I try to make sure that I don't repeat my music.

A. S. Byatt
A. S. Byatt

Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules.