History is beautiful stories or scary stories, yeah.

You have to read history. You have to have a sense of history.

When I am writing a novel I try not to read great prose stylists into which I will fall.

If a writer is honest, if what is at stake for him can seem to matter to his readers, then his work may be read. But a writer will work anyway, as I do, and as I have, in part to explore this terra incognita, this dangerous ground I seem to need to risk.

If there is some blood on the pages then you have some readership.

The education of young people is narrowing. They cannot have the scope they used to have. They are being taught in high school by people earnest, still, but maybe less well-prepared than we would want them to be - but not because they are stupid or churlish.

I read a lot of poetry. I read some history.