Productivity is a relative matter. And it's really insignificant: What is ultimately important is a writer's strongest books.

I believe that art is the highest expression of the human spirit. I believe that we yearn to transcend the merely finite and ephemeral; to participate in something mysterious and communal called 'culture' - and that this yearning is as strong in our species as the yearning to reproduce the species.

Acting is the loneliest profession I know.

I read books. Avidly, ardently! As if my life depended upon it.

If you explore beneath shyness or party chit-chat, you can sometimes turn a dull exchange into an intriguing one. I've found this to be particularly true in the case of professors or intellectuals, who are full of fascinating information, but need encouragement before they'll divulge it.

I was trying not to be happy, hopeful. I did not believe I deserved happiness or even hope, if you knew my soul.

After my parents passed away - in 2000 and 2003 - I felt I could take the time to think about the past and imagine what it would have been like to be my grandmother.