I don't think the soul is immortal, or at least not immortal in individuals, but it may be immortal as an aspect of the human personality because when I talk about what literature nourishes, it would be silly of me or reductionist to say that it nourishes the brain.

My chief consolation in this year of living dyingly has been the presence of friends.

When I went to Czechoslovakia under the old Communist regime one day in the '80s, I thought to myself whatever I do, whatever happens to me in Prague I'm not going to use the name Kafka, I'm just not going to do it. I won't do it; it's so easy, everyone else does, I'm not going to. I'll write the first non-Kafka mentioning piece.

I say that homosexuality is not just a form of sex, it's a form of love, and it deserves our respect for that reason.

The cause of my life has been to oppose superstition. It's a battle you can't hope to win - it's a battle that's going to go on forever. It's part of the human condition.

Ever since I discovered that my god given male member was going to give me no peace, I decided to give it no rest in return.

Religion makes intelligent people say and do wacky things, believe and affirm crazy things.