As I get older I find that the friendships that are the most certain, ultimately, are the ones where you and the other person have made substantial amounts of money for one another.

There's something about the rhythms of language that correspond to the rhythms of our own bodies.

I keep one simple rule that I only move in one direction - I write the book straight through from beginning to end. By following time's arrow I keep myself sane.

Writing is a necessity and often a pleasure, but at the same time, it can be a great burden and a terrible struggle.

I prefer old books and find them more relevant. I dislike new books. It's like drinking wine that's not ready.

Apparently Brooklyn needn't always push itself to be something else, something conscious and anxious, something pointed toward Manhattan.... Brooklyn might sometimes also be pleased, as here on Flatbush, to be its grubby, enduring self.

You can't be deep without a surface