I would very much like to be one of those writers who have something really clear in their head to say, and throughout their life they promote this idea in their works. Italo Calvino
How much energy is wasted in Italy in trying to write the novel that obeys all the rules. The energy might have been useful to provide us with more modest, more genuine things, that had less pretensions: short stories, memoirs, notes, testimonials, or at any rate, books that are open, without a preconceived plan. Italo Calvino
Bringing a child into the world makes sense only if this child is wanted consciously and freely by its two parents. If it is not, then it is simply animal and criminal behavior. Italo Calvino
A human being becomes human not through the casual convergence of certain biological conditions, but through an act of will and love on the part of other people. Italo Calvino
Turin is a city which entices a writer towards vigor, linearity, style. It encourages logic, and through logic it opens the way towards madness. Italo Calvino
Personally, I believe in fiction because the stories I like are those with a beginning and an end. Italo Calvino
I'm terrified of writing at night, for then I can't sleep. So I start slowly, slowly writing in the morning and go on into the late afternoon. Italo Calvino
Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world. Italo Calvino
Man is simply the best chance we know of that matter has had of providing itself with information about itself. Italo Calvino
If the reader looks, I think he will find plenty of moral and political ideas in my stories. Italo Calvino