If you want to break the rules of grammar, first learn the rules of grammar.

So many people think that practicing an art is a good way to make a living. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. I'm talking about singing in the shower, I'm talking about dancing to the radio, I'm talking about writing a poem to a friend.

A story has to be a good date, because the reader can stop at any time. Remember, readers are selfish and have no compulsion to be decent about anything.

Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not.

Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops.

We are all experiments in enthusiasms, narrow and preordained.

In those days great teachers at Shortridge [High School] were celebrities. I would look up to them.