My poems getting published in Russia doesn't make me feel in any fashion, to tell you the truth. I'm not trying to be coy, but it doesn't tickle my ego.

I grew up in the sort of cultural milieu that always regarded conversations about the political discourse as tremendously low-brow.

When Thomas Mann arrived in California from Germany, they asked him about German literature. And he said, 'German literature is where I am.' It's really a bit grand, but if a German can afford it, I can afford it.

When I'm not writing or reading, I'm thinking about both.

I'm 100 percent Jewish by blood, but by education I'm nothing. By affiliation I'm nothing.

Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family. Even your super weirdo creep cousin.

I don't have principles. I have nerves.