All we are is eyes looking for the unbroken or the edges where the broken bits might fit each other.

The proper word for me," Robin Goodman says, "is me.

A good argument, like a good dialogue, is always a proof of life, but I'd much rather go and read a book.

We'd never expect to understand a piece of music on one listen, but we tend to believe we've read a book after reading it just once.

Every great narrative is at least two narratives, if not more - the thing that is on the surface and then the things underneath which are invisible.

There is a kind of poetry, bad and good, in evrything, everywhere we look.

Short stories consume you faster. They're connected to brevity. With the short story, you are up against mortality. I know how tough they are as a form, but they're also a total joy.