I think the deepest thing is that many fiction writers tell stories but are not elegant writers. But, we're not writing journalism when we're making literature.

Fiction writers learn about the development of metaphor, the use of rhythm, the way that language is compacted in order to express the feelings of - express their own feelings and the feelings of their characters.

The very good thing about MFA programs is their democratizing. They bring a lot of different people to the table.

Books and newspapers assume a "common reader" that is, a person who knows the things known by other literate persons in the culture. Obviously, such assumptions are never identical from writer to writer, but they show a remarkable consistency

Then I found another one, grandpa's poem. It turned out it had been written by Emily Brontë and it wasn't my grandfather's poem at all, although my response to it, I think, was pretty much the same, I just had the author wrong.

The way to become a poet is to read poetry and to imitate what you read and to read passionately and widely and in as involved a way as you can.

But, the best times I have found, in my life, are late at night or early in the morning and I think it's because you're outside the social realm.