My stories do have plot. They're not just scattered language; they're controlled, toward an end.

I thought I was writing for a fairly hip, intelligent crowd; I just thought there were more of them out there. But they're not. They're not out there waiting. They're not gonna use their intelligence on your book.

I lost my second marriage because of drinking, and I loved the woman very much. But I thought I needed booze to write. I'm glad I was disabused.

If you are able to explain suffering, a man once told him, you weren't really there.

I wake my wife up at 3 a.m. and say, "Listen to this!"

Literature is the history of the soul.

Professional Southerners sicken me.