The only thing that exists is torment, lyricism, and the magnificence of language.

Even the small amount of infamy I have makes me uncomfortable - on a personal level and on a professional level.

I think we're all mysteries to ourselves.

I have to be careful of what TV shows I choose, particularly ones that have commercials in them, because it's going to be a different kind of television show.

It's probably odd for someone to read an interview where the interviewee is worried about exposure while they're talking in an interview.

I began to write fiction on the assumption that the true enemies of the novel were plot, character, setting and theme, and having once abandoned these familiar ways of thinking about fiction, totality of vision or structure was really all that remained.

When we lived in Juneau, Alaska, it was a town of about 7,000 people, and totally isolated; the only way to get to it was by ship.