I was kidnapped by literature at a young age and never wanted to be ransomed.

We battled in secret, undeclared, and after a while I no longer fought back because I never won. The only defense was flight, invisibility.

I would not change [my past work] anymore than I would airbrush a photo of myself.

Religions in general have to rediscover their roots. In Hinduism and the Koran, animals are described as equals. If you walk into a cathedral and look at the decorations of early Christianity, there are vines, animals, creatures and birds thriving all over the stonework.

A wave of blood goes up to my head, my stomach shrinks together, as if something dangerous has just missed hitting me. It's as if I've been caught stealing, or telling a lie; or as if I've heard other people talking about me, saying bad things about me, behind my back. There's the same flush of shame, of guilt and terror, and of cold disgust with myself. But I don't know where these feelings have come from, what I've done.

When I was 16, I started publishing all kinds of things in school magazines.

I was kidnapped by literature at a young age and never wanted to be ransomed.