Haiti is unique - the first successful slave revolt in history, the first black republic etc., and then when you get into the culture, the voodoo, and that wonderful synchretization of Christian and African belief and symbology, it's like nothing the world has ever seen.

I got brilliant stories from people who'd never set foot in an MFA program and had published very little, and terrible stories from people who'd published a lot and had all the credentials. It was all over the map and that was part of the fun.

It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course.

Late bloomer' is another way of saying 'slow learner.

Somewhere along the way America became a giant mall with a country attached.

I think I was lucky to come of age in a place and time - the American South in the 1960s and '70s - when the machine hadn't completely taken over life. The natural world was still the world, and machines - TV, telephone, cars - were still more or less ancillary, and computers were unheard of in everyday life.

I think if you spend much time dwelling on influence you can get self-conscious about every line you write. That's a great way to freeze up.