The culture is with some rapidity fearing its imagination. I don't know why. Imagination is not of interest.

I enjoy going to campuses and reading and doing a class or teaching and then running away and not having to grade papers.

Let's look at what the books are that are being produced. More and more they are being made like movies. To sell. They are being tested out.

Never use 'submit' as a verb for sending work to magazine or book publishers; say 'offer,' and never, ever submit. Keep your knees unbent. Be brave.

It's hard to read real fiction. It takes time. It takes a sustained attention.

It's harder to get hold of the world. It's harder to understand the world, to encompass the literature necessary for the information.

What to know about pain is how little we do to deserve it, how simple it is to give, how hard to lose.