[T]he flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar… – Constance Hale, Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose, 1999

I believe that every English poet should read the English classics, master the rules of grammar before he attempts to bend or break them, travel abroad, experience the horror of sordid passion and — if he is lucky enough — know the love of an honest woman. – Robert Graves (1895–1985), lecture at Oxford, quoted in Time, 1961 Decembe

Grammar is a piano I play by ear, since I seem to have been out of school the year the rules were mentioned. All I know about grammar is its infinite power. – Joan Didion, “Why I Write,” 1976

Every time you make a typo, the errorists win. – Author unknown