The definition of genius, really, should be that that person can do what the rest of us have to learn how to do.
James LiptonIf I were to ask you for example right now to go back with me and define those moments in your life that shaped you as a person and you began to reexamine them, something would happen.
James LiptonWhen I went to school, my intention was to be a lawyer. When I attended university that was still the clear intention; I was going to be a lawyer. Why? Because it was as far as I could get from my father's antics and world. I thought that the world of the arts probably led people into the kind of behavior I had seen with him and that had resulted in a lot of hard times for my mother and me.
James LiptonI would say that writing, both the act of writing, and of course reading of other people's work is, for me, supreme joy.
James Lipton