As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of state.

Because every book of art, be it a poem or a cupola, is understandably a self-portrait of its author, we won't strain ourselves too hard trying to distinguish between the author's persona and the poem's lyrical hero. As a rule, such distinctions are quite meaningless, if only because a lyrical hero is invariably an author's self-projection.

Creativity is an unending exercise in uncertainty.

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

In poetic thought, the role of the subconscious is played by euphony.

The moment that you place blame somewhere, you undermine your resolve to change anything.

In general, in America, every discourse in literature in 15 minutes degenerates into a conversation about ethics, morality and this and that. The Holocaust and the consequences of it. Well, I find it terribly boring, predictable and unimportant, because what matters about literature is esthetic achievement.