“A poetess who had died young of cancer had said in one of her poems that for her, on sleepless nights, 'the night offers toads and black dogs and corpses of the drowned.”

“Some women waited for a night in shining armor. She, apparently, had ended up with a knight in black jeans and leather, who wanted to chase her down and have his evil way with her.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

“A sleepless spring night:
Yearning for what I never had
And for what never was.”

Richard Wright (1908–1960) African-American writer

“He offered her the world. She said she had her own.”

Monique Duval (1924–2014) Canadian journalist

“And there was one, beneath black eaves, who thought,
Combing with lifted arms her golden hair,
Of the lover who hurried towards her through the night;
And there was one who dreamed of a sudden death
As she blew out her light.”

Conrad Aiken (1889–1973) American novelist and poet

“I wish the Queen had died the night before the Royal Jubilee – I wish she’d just fucking died. But they wouldn’t have been able to tell us that she’d died. They would have had to hollow out her body and get that guy who plays Gollum to wear it.”

Frankie Boyle (1972) Scottish comedian

“Now had Aurora displayed her mantle over the blushing skies, and dark night withdrawn her sable veil.”

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright

“Driven through by her own sword,
summer died last night, alone.”

Joanna Newsom (1982) American musician

“Misty path and the night is endless,
She could be a queen
Or a desert princess.
Hero takes her hand and leads her through…
Who knows what this night will do?
Only in the blue night he comes to her
That's when the whole night
Belongs to her.”

Mike Oldfield (1953) English musician, multi-instrumentalist

“The thunder rolls,
And the lightnin' strikes.
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night.
As the storm blows on
Out of control,
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls.”

Garth Brooks (1962) American country music artist