“His heart; some long word at the heart. He is dying of a long word.”

page 199
A Million Little Pieces (2003)

Preface, p. 18, sentence 5.
The Christian Agnostic (1965)

Source: Surrender

Source: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Source: Phantastes

Pupils at Sais (1799)
Context: Over his own heart and his own thoughts he watched attentively. He knew not whither his longing was carrying him. As he grew up, he wandered far and wide; viewed other lands, other seas, new atmospheres, new rocks, unknown plants, animals, men; descended into caverns, saw how in courses and varying strata the edifice of the Earth was completed, and fashioned clay into strange figures of rocks. By and by, he came to find everywhere objects already known, but wonderfully mingled, united; and thus often extraordinary things came to shape in him. He soon became aware of combinations in all, of conjunctures, concurrences. Erelong, he no more saw anything alone. — In great variegated images, the perceptions of his senses crowded round him; he heard, saw, touched and thought at once. He rejoiced to bring strangers together. Now the stars were men, now men were stars, the stones animals, the clouds plants; he sported with powers and appearances; he knew where and how this and that was to be found, to be brought into action; and so himself struck over the strings, for tones and touches of his own.

Quoted by Ron Grossman, "Nelson Algren's Chicago" http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-nelson-algren-flashback-chicago-authors-perspec-0326-jm-20170324-story.html, The Chicago Tribune, March 25, 2017.
Nonfiction works

Source: Chapter 14, “The Name of the Wind” (p. 113)
Context: Remember this son, if you forget everything else. A poet is a musician who can’t sing. Words have to find a man’s mind before they can touch his heart. And, some men’s minds are woeful small targets. Music touches their hearts directly, no matter how small or stubborn the mind of the man who listens.