Isaac Singer was born in Poland and doesn't write in English. Still, he's an American.

The last paragraph in which you tell what the story is about is almost always best left out.

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I think a writer is a citizen of humanity, part of his nation, part of his family. He may have to make some compromises.

My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find out how they have

At the height of the McCarthy period, writers were being hounded.

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.