A poem (surely someone has said this before) is a one-night stand, a short story a love affair, and a novel a marriage.

The best slave does not need to be beaten. She beats herself.

Sex has the unparalleled power to make us absurd to ourselves. It also has the power to make us understand transcendence.

At fifty the madwoman in the attic breaks loose, stomps down the stairs, and sets fire to the house. She won't be imprisoned anymore.

What I would like to give my daughter is freedom. And this is something that must be given by example, not exhortation. Freedom is a loose leash, license to be different from your mother and still be loved...Freedom is...not insisting that your daughter share your limitations. Freedom also means letting your daughter reject you when she needs to and come back when she needs to. Freedom is unconditional love.

biography is essentially a collaborative art, the latest biographer collaborating with all those who wrote earlier.

You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone.