A perfect world or a world destroyed, one or the other- someday will come the end of hell.

No matter how rudely someone treats you, remain kind. Walking away at peace with yourself is worth it.

I lived like a man who wanted to die but who had no courage to do it himself.

I'm definitely more influenced by European writers than I am by American writers, there's no doubt about that.

And then there came the pounding of another drum, as if another giant were coming yards behind him, and each giant, intent on his own drum, gave no notice to the rhythm of the other. The sound grew louder and louder until it seemed to fill not just my hearing but all my senses, to be throbbing in my lips and fingers, in the flesh of my temples, in my veins.

Curses of vanished elders echoed down on me; too pretty, too soft, too pale, eyes far too full of the Devil, ah, that devilish smile

In the spring of 1988, I returned to New Orleans, and as soon as I smelled the air, I knew I was home. It was rich, almost sweet, like the scent of jasmine and roses around our old courtyard. I walked the streets, savoring that long lost perfume.