I believe I belong to the last literary generation, the last generation, that is, for whom books are a religion.

But if the gods do not exist at all - then we are lost,' I said. On the contrary - we are found!' said Aesop. But when we are afraid, who can we turn to, if not the gods?' Ourselves. We turn to ourselves anyway. We only pretend there are gods and that they care about us. It is a comforting falsehood.

Nothing quite has reality for me till I write it all down--revising and embellishing as I go. I'm always waiting for things to be over so I can get home and commit them to paper.

There are no atheists on turbulent airplanes.

Creativity demands nothing less than all you have. Talent alone is never enough.

I started with poetry because it was direct, immediate, and short. It was the ecstasy of striking matches in the dark.

Spring, / you are a pinking shears: you cut / fresh edges on the world.