I left my country because I was forced to, and I do not think that I am going to lose my language because I live in England

Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled writer.

No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.

American literature had always considered writing a very serious matter

Cigars must be smoked one at a time, peaceably, with all the leisure in the world. Cigarettes are of the instant, Cigars are for eternity.

I wrote for a weekly magazine and then edited a literary magazine, but I did not really feel comfortable with the profession of journalism itself

I think that like all writers - and if any writer disagrees with this, then he is not a writer - I write primarily for myself