Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion.

If I were to offer any advice to young writers, it would be this: be discriminating and be discerning about the work you set for yourself. That done, be the untutored traveler, the eager reader, the enthusiastic listener. Put what you learn together carefully, and then write thoughtfully, with respect both for the reader and your sources.

Everything is held together with stories. That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion.

The writer works on the inside and the critic works on the outside. I don't know what it looks like on the outside, sometimes. It's not that I'm not interested-it's not where I live. I live inside the story.

You can't learn anything from saguaro cactus, from ocotillo. They are just passing through; their roots, their much heralded dormancy in the dry season, these are only illusions of permanence. They know even less than you do.

The land urges us to come around to an understanding of ourselves.

For so many centuries, the exchange of gifts has held us together. It has made it possible to bridge the abyss where language struggles.