I was miserable, of course, for I was seventeen, and so I swung into action and wrote a poem, and it was miserable, for that's how I thought poetry worked: you digested experience and shat literature. [from "Mingus at the Showplace"] - William Matthews
Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly. - Francis Bacon
Don't ask me who's influenced me. A lion is made up of all the lambs he's digested, and I've been reading all my life. - Giorgos Seferis
While grief is fresh, every attempt to divert only irritates. You must wait till it be digested, and then amusement will dissipate the remains of it. - Samuel Johnson