A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme

itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical age had no use for it, and the kind of Latin poetry that does rhyme - as for instance the medieval 'Carmina Burana' - tends to be somewhat crude stuff in comparison with the classical verse that doesn't. James Fenton

So actually I only got a mobile phone the day after I left being Prime Minister. Tony Blair

I want to reach as many people as possible with the message of music, of wonderful opera. Luciano Pavarotti

I hope I look skinnier in 3D. I hope I don't look three times as fat. That'll be disappointing. Kathy Bates

I am placed in situations with opportunities in those situations that others are not. I don't believe that that is happenstance. I believe that there is a God that has a plan for me. Ronald Perelman

The choice is between which mistake is easier to correct: underdoing it or overdoing it. Timothy Geithner

Too many of Disney animators, and a lot try to emulate Disney, are trying to hit what they call quality levels. They're boring mannerisms. Ralph Bakshi

If you don't stick up for what's yours, and defend what's yours... what are you? Randy Quaid

If you're with someone who makes you happy in your personal life, then you're happy with where you're at. Diane Kruger

An actor shouldn't undergo psychoanalysis, because there are a lot of things you're better off not knowing. Paul Lynde

Gemeoss

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose

sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical person fears - the fall into knowledge exhaustion, obsolescence, techno-fuddy-duddyism - there was no reason to think I could escape it forever. Ellen Ullman Innovation and its allure can be dangerous. It can draw you away from the user, from the intended outcome, and may be the ultimate demise of otherwise great intentions. Mark Brand My voice is different, but I don't think I'm the only one with a different take on pop music. Charli XCX In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada. Jodi Balfour Mexico has 44 treaties with other countries that make it very advantageous to do international shipping from Mexico rather than from the United States. Wilbur Ross Winning HOYS set me up for the future and prepared me for riding in front of lots of ...

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

That's what I think our jobs as parents are, to educate as much as possible...

I tell them to follow their bliss. The people who follow their bliss in this world tend to be the more happier people. Art Alexakis The only time I waste is time I spend doing something that, in my gut, I know I shouldn't. If I choose to spend time playing video games or sleeping in, then it's time well spent, because I chose to do it. I did it for a reason - to relax, to decompress or to feel good, and that was what I wanted to do. Simon Sinek Meat workers may have been looked down upon socially, but at least they were well-paid and were a fit and lively bunch as a result of hard, honest physical work. Michael Leunig I decided that I wanted a farm back in 1940 when I was with the Dodgers. I tried to find one within commuting distance of New York. Larry MacPhail Oh God, are you supposed to collect things? I don't collect things. I like throwing things away. Caitlin Moran My first phone was two tin cans tied together with string, and it worked pretty good. Do...

I didn't have any aspirations of becoming famous or successful; in fact I was scared

to death of all that. I remember somebody once said that if a rock musician goes on tour, he goes insane. I was very impressionable and I carried this useless weight of fear around with me about going on tour, all because of this thing somebody said. Steve Vai In 1940 I came across a record by Jimmy Yancey. I can't say how important that record is. From then on, all I wanted to do was play the blues. Alexis Korner If the greatest god is the stillness all the motions add up to, then we must ineluctably be included. A. R. Ammons The effect of studying masterpieces is to make me admire and do otherwise. Gerard Manley Hopkins Being in the public eye, I have certainly gone through the tabloid situation where they come out with stories that are not true. I don't read or pay attention to it. Cheryl Tiegs If I wasn't a film-maker, I'd be a film critic. It's the only thing I'd be qualified to do. Quentin Tarantino New discoveries in science will continue to c...

Body concentrates order. It continuously self-repairs. Every five days you get a new stomach lining.

You get a new liver every two months. Your skin replaces itself every six weeks. Every year, 98 percent of the atoms of your body are replaced. This non-stop chemical replacement, metabolism, is a sure sign of life. Lynn Margulis Any story you've heard of my behavior is probably true. David Caruso When a man has seen the aerodynamic shape of a Caravelle jet at an airport, he doesn't need aerodynamic furniture. Emilio Pucci As an investor, what we're not looking for is 'oh this is a cool app,' it's 'is this something that can become a big business?' You need to find those that can become real businesses. Niklas Zennstrom I always tell employees: 'The group's benefit is more important than your personal benefit.' Terry Gou You can hit as many revolutions as you want, but women are always going to wear uncomfortable shoes that look good. Gail Collins All media owners want to attract advertising revenue. Google is no different. Mauric...

I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead

to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found it so frightening to write. Elizabeth George We feel that, with Sidney, we have a great opportunity over the next few years to put a great team on the ice. We're prepared to lose some money along the way. Eventually we're going to need some help. Mario Lemieux With the increasing importance of standards for system-level objects such as COM and CORBA, it is particularly important that the C++ bindings to those be clean, well documented, and simple to use. Bjarne Stroustrup The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past. Tim Berners-Lee I don't think of myself as a brand. Branding to me feels like a position or identity that's frozen in time. I'm more interested in transitions. David Rockwell I actually had a Bobby Orr action figure. You could put the pads on him and skates and all that. I was 7, and he was still playing. Mike Weir Reagan won b...

I don't think the entire world respects women in sport. But if FIFA start respecting

the women's game more, others will follow. Alex Morgan I have been making hip-hop since I was a kid growing up in New York in the '80s and '90s. It's always been a hobby of mine - I've been making beats and writing songs for as long or longer than I've been acting. Dash Mihok I listen to some Hank Williams before I go out. I tell some jokes. I have fun. I don't waste too much energy thinking about it - I like to save that all for the ring. Dean Ambrose I've decided that I'm completely rock n' roll. Katherine Ryan Advertising is a nebulous beast at the best of times. Antony Johnston Why should we take options off the table in advance? Gillian Turner To me, fashion is ceaselessly fascinating because it is an expression of self. Anna Wintour More than any other poet, Whitman is what we make him; more than any other poet, his greatest value is in what he suggests and implies rather than in what he portrays, and more than any othe...

I think it's a luxury when you love the thing you're promoting, and then you

don't have to try to think of something, try and find some angle. Katherine Waterston I think 2020 can still be my time. Katarina Johnson-Thompson Sophie does more of the writing, lyrical stuff; I do more of the sitting at the computer and the board stuff. But it blurs. If we're both really feeling it, then we'll keep going with the song. Tucker Halpern It's funny: I don't listen to too much rap. I don't listen to too much older hip-hop. If I do, it's Ja Rule. Kehlani I'm on record that it didn't really traumatize me to do away with some people. Jim Mattis I was pretty naive about how hard it would be to get out from under the family name. Not that I'm complaining. Owen King Poor families are living above their means, in apartments they cannot afford. The thing is, those apartments are already at the bottom of the market. Matthew Desmond I am very bullish on India because of its people, its culture, and the leadership. I love...