Rarely does an interviewer ask questions you did not expect. I have given a lot of interviews, and I have concluded that the questions always look alike. I could always give the same answers. – Italo Calvino
Biographical data, even those recorded in the public registers, are the most private things one has, and to declare them openly is rather like facing a psychoanalyst. – 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
I am more and more convinced that literature is made up of works, genres, schools, discussions, problems, collective work in order to solve certain problems. – Italo Calvino
My stories are full of facts; they have a beginning and an end. For that reason, they will never… occupy a place in contemporary literature. – Italo Calvino
I change my method and field of reference from book to book because I can never believe in the same thing two times running. – Italo Calvino
Although I am small, ugly and dirty, I am highly ambitious, and at the slightest flattery, I immediately start to strut like a turkey. – Italo Calvino
The satirist is prevented by repulsion from gaining a better knowledge of the world he is attracted to, yet he is forced by attraction to concern himself with the world that repels him. – Italo Calvino
If the reader looks, I think he will find plenty of moral and political ideas in my stories. – Italo Calvino
What Romantic terminology called genius or talent or inspiration is nothing other than finding the right road empirically, following one’s nose, taking shortcuts. – Italo Calvino
When I’m writing a book, I prefer not to speak about it, because only when the book is finished can I try to understand what I’ve really done and to compare my intentions with the result. – Italo Calvino
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
