That's my only defense against this world: to build a sentence out of it.

I like grit, I like love and death, I'm tired of irony. ... A lot of good fiction is sentimental. ... The novelist who refuses sentiment refuses the full spectrum of human behavior, and then he just dries up. ... I would rather give full vent to all human loves and disappointments, and take a chance on being corny, than die a smartass.

That is simply the most beautiful publishing office in the world, with that cranky old building in that wonderful park.

I should add that I very much enjoy certain cities especially Paris, New York and Chicago.

I used to get criticized for putting food in novels.

The wife picked out ceramic tile for floor covering, not realizing that cost was determined by square foot, not square yard like carpet. Thinking the price was plenty reasonable, she had an extra room of tile ordered for installation. When the bill arrived, it was staggering. She and her husband began a fight that continued all through the construction job. They ended up divorced, but not until she had broken every window.

A poet must discover that it’s his own story that is true, even if the truth is small indeed.