When I came to America, I was already a writer, already published in Bosnia. I was planning to go back, but I had no choice but to stay here after the civil war, so I enrolled at Northwestern in a master's program and studied American literature.

Memoir implies the need to reveal something about yourself - to recount your life for educational purposes.

My books have been published all over Europe. They read me there, and I want to read them back. I also spend a lot of time in Europe, often meeting writers, and I'm sick of apologizing for the embarrassing shortage of translations in America.

I cannot think of a country in which I would be happy with the government and dominant ideology and available propaganda.

Lord, why did you leave me in these woods?

I wish I could avoid the people who have threatened me. My favorite threat is that I will be thrown in the River Miljacka, which is at most knee-deep, with my feet bound in cement.

People will always tell stories. The publishing industry might vanish, but not stories.