Well, I do have some maiden aunts that are not quite like the aunts in the book, but I definitely do have a couple of them, and a couple of old aunties.

Still when I lost her, I lost sight of any landmark that might have led me someplace happier, to some more populated or congenial life.

There's a big anti-intellectual strain in the American south, and there always has been. We're not big on thought.

Storytelling and elegant style don't always go hand in hand.

Criticism at the wrong time, even if it's legitimate criticism, can be seriously damaging and make the writer lose faith in what he's doing. It's the timing that's all-important.

I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.

When you feel homesick,’ he said, ‘just look up. Because the moon is the same wherever you go.