Because it is the Midwest, no one really glitters because no one has to, it's more of a dull shine, like frequently used silverware.

I feel quite at home writing short stories but nervous and anxious when writing novels, as if the bad time of consecutive failures might arise again.

Literature is not an instruction manual.

It's better to be nominated for awards than not to be nominated for them, but of course to some degree such awards [National Book Award] are always subjective.

There is such a thing as the poetry of a mistake, and when you say, "Mistakes were made," you deprive an action of its poetry, and you sound like a weasel.

When blame has been assigned, the story is over.

Forget art. Put your trust in ice cream.