The only way we know it's true is that we both dreamed it. That's what reality is. It's a dream everyone has together.

I tell my students that when you write, you should pretend you’re writing the best letter you ever wrote to the smartest friend you have. That way, you’ll never dumb things down. You won’t have to explain things that don’t need explaining. You’ll assume an intimacy and a natural shorthand, which is good because readers are smart and don’t wish to be condescended to.

It was possible to feel superior to other people and feel like a misfit at the same time.

There comes a moment, when you get lost in the woods, when the woods begin to feel like home.

Capitalism has resulted in material well-being but spiritual bankruptcy.

You used to be able to tell a person's nationality by the face. Immigration ended that. Next you discerned nationality via the footwear. Globalization ended that.

No matter how long your've been at it, you always start from scratch.