History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth.

Every major work of art is a transgression, but the artist is not necessarily, by nature, a transgressor.

Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.

A writer's life is so hazardous that anything he does is bad for him. Anything that happens to him is bad: failure's bad, success is bad; impoverishment is bad, money is very, very bad. Nothing good can happen... Except the act of writing.

Whenever citizens are seen routinely as enemies of their own government, writers are rountinely seen to be the most dangerous enemies.

Writing is immensely difficult. The short forms especially.

Stories distribute the suffering so that it can be borne.