A precious liquid, a poison dearer than that of the Borgias — because it is made from our blood, our health, our sleep, and two-thirds of our love — we must be stingy with it. – Charles Baudelaire, “Advice to Young Writers,” 1867
If history were a photograph of the past it would be flat and uninspiring. Happily, it is a painting; and, like all works of art, it fails of the highest truth unless imagination and ideas are mixed with the paints. – Allen Nevins
I love costumes. I love getting dressed up because it really helps my imagination make the leap to believe that I am who I say I am. – Alessandro Nivola