Rosiness is not a worse windowpane than gloomy gray when viewing the world.

I write for the still, small possibility of justice.

Literature, fiction, poetry, whatever, makes justice in the world. That's why it almost always has to be on the side of the underdog.

The wrong word is like a lie jammed inside the story.

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.

I know I've done good work. I've been very serious about my writing, and I've done the best that I could. But I don't feel that I've done more than I should have. In fact, I've done less than I should have.

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