It was only as I wrote about fear that I began to find paths of access to feelings that were intolerable to me then.

I listen to music all the time. I write while listening to music. And I tell myself that the music nourishes the art forms that I do master and domesticate, and have authority over.

Making books has always felt very connected to my bookselling experience, that of wanting to draw people's attention to things that I liked, to shape things that I liked into new shapes.

Writing is physical for me. I always have the sense that the words are coming out of my body, not just my mind.

I work on a laptop specifically so I can work in cafes and pretend I'm part of the human world.

I'm learning to hate the sound of my own voice.

Writing is a private discipline, in a field of companions.