Why does a person even get up in the morning? You have breakfast, you floss your teeth so you'll have healthy gums in your old age, and then you get in your car and drive down I-10 and die. Life is so stupid I can't stand it.

I rarely think of poetry as something I make happen; it is more accurate to say that it happens to me. Like a summer storm, a house afire, or the coincidence of both on the same day.

It takes some courage to write fiction about politically controversial topics. The dread is you'll be labeled a political writer.

God, why does a mortal man have children? It is senseless to love anything this much.

Arterial-plaque specials that save minutes now can cost years, later on.

That's how it is: some people are content to wait till you ask, while others jump right in with the whole story.

Because I write fiction that is based in the real world, it's going to lead people into some of the modern dilemmas and concerns and even catastrophes that they will think about in a new way.