The first language that I learned was Italian in Italy in the early and middle-'60s and I had to do that to keep up with the young men who were courting my wife.

A sceptic finds Dallas absurd. A cynic thinks the public doesn't

My niece is - her name is Sasha, is currently learning Russian at Melbourne University and I look forward to the day when I can talk to her about Pushkin.

When I was young I never believed that Australia was anything else except blessed. I thought it was a little dull when I was young, but that was 'cause I was a snob.

Ban poetry. And make sure that anyone caught reading it is expelled from school. Then it will acquire the glamour.

A traditional fixture at Wimbledon is the way the BBC TV commentary box fills up with British players eliminated in the early rounds.

Writing is a performance art for me. They're very closely aligned, writing and performing. But I'm a writer, not a performer.