I begin by writing paragraphs that don’t have an immediate relation to a plot. The sound of the story comes first.

I saw my ex-husband in the street. I was sitting on the steps of the new library. Hello, my life, I said. We had once been married for twenty-seven years, so I felt justified. He said, What? What life? No life of mine.

I do lots of reading and speaking at many universities about literature and also about politics, which is as much a part of my life as the literature.

Hindsight, usually looked down upon, is probably as valuable as foresight, since it does include a few facts.

You know the mind is an astonishing, long-living, erotic thing.

Good talkers are people who use interesting language and have a lot of energy in speech and who also listen.

I liked the education. I liked people learning things all around me and I liked going to people's classes.