James A. Michener

I was brought up in the great tradition of the late nineteenth century: that a writer never complains, never explains and never disdains.

I was a Navy officer writing about Navy problems and I simply stole this lovely Army nurse and popped her into a Navy uniform, where she has done very well for herself.

I attended seminars where many social issues were discussed abstractly, outside the pressures of an immediate situation, and there I developed certain attitudes which permitted me to face the real thing when it came along.

I have only one bit of advice to the beginning writer: Be sure your novel is read by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

I missed a whole cycle of childhood, but I've never used it as a device for self-pity.

A person on dialysis undergoes very heavy and irritating treatment, and in time, it seems more than you can bear.

An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.

There are no insoluble problems. Only time-consuming ones.

I am the product of the American education system. It is a system that has always been on the lookout for bright boys and girls. It spotted me when I was 14, and I owe a tremendous debt to my alma mater.

The really great writers are people like Emily Bronte who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.

Russia, France, Germany and China. They revere their writers. America is still a frontier country that almost shudders at the idea of creative expression.

My work as a naval officer in World War II enabled me to serve on 49 different South Pacific islands so that I came to know the area about as well as anyone.