Lapham’s Quarterly

What man was ever content with one crime?

A crowded police court docket is the surest sign that trade is brisk and money plenty.

Our crime against criminals is that we treat them as villains.

I’ve got some shit I’m conservative about and some shit I’m liberal about. Crime—I’m conservative. Prostitution—I’m liberal.

After all, crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor.

Two crimes undid me: a poem and a mistake. 

The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.

There is no crime without precedent. 

The land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

No punishment has ever possessed enough power of deterrence to prevent the commission of crimes.