Jean-Luke’s Reviews > Letters between Forster and Isherwood on Homosexuality and Literature > Status Update

"It is a rung of misery, in which each rung is tempted to keep to itself, ignore the rung below it, criticize the rung above."

"My life is water-colour rendering of yours: a burst water-pipe instead of a frozen radiator, cough and cold instead of clap, failure to start an article on "How I listen to Music" instead of a novel, and a £50 loan to poor Mrs Morgan at the garage instead of an American debt."

"I'll go to bed now and have some of my extraordinary dreams. These are either sentences which I sometimes write down as I waken, and are I believe proofs that, as a novelist, I have gone underground. Or they are about war, aerial bombardment, gas marshalled by me without an appropriate emotion."

"I am full of plans as to what I will do when I get well--e.g. attend every dog that runs, visit the English Lakes, Portugal and Dorsetshire, reform the Police Courts, read all Milton, not lift a finger to hinder the next world-war, to be very kind, very selfish, and incidentally write masterpieces. I wonder whether you are on one of the latter yourself. I do hope so."

"Dear Forster, I wonder where you are and what you are doing? If you happen to be in Greece, please come and call. All you have to do is to get to Chalkis by train, then persuade some farmer to bring you as far as Chalia with his cart, from whence half an hour's brisk donkey ride will bring you to the shore. From the shore you must shout very loud, and I will come over in a boat and fetch you."