Americans who read and think are patriots of the first order. The kind who know enough to roll their eyes whenever anyone tries to claim sole custody of the flag and weild it as a blunt instrument. There are as many ways to love America as there are Americans, and our country needs us all.

The truth needs so little rehearsal.

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

If I had to give up my life for anything, it would have to have the resilience of hope, the elation of new literacy, the brilliant life of a field of flowers, the elementary kindness of bread. Nothing short of that. It would have to be something as sure as love.

Many of us who aren't farmers or gardeners still have some element of farm nostalgia in our family past, real or imagined: a secret longing for some connection to a life where a rooster crows in the yard.

I attempted briefly to consecrate myself in the public library, believing every crack in my soul could be chinked with a book.

Eaters must understand, how we eat determines how the world is used.