It is the first experience you ever had of reading a decent poem: 'Oh, somebody else is lonely, too!

Yes, the mistrust of poetry has a long history, for a variety of reasons, but they all come down to sentiment and invention over fact and truth. Figurative language is suspicious.

[On filling out a grant application:] I seek an extended period of time, free from all distractions, so that I might be free to be distracted.

The words secret and sacred are siblings.

Every creative act is an act of hypocrisy and violence. You may have to think about it for a while, but I am sure you can discover your own.

I like to read because it kills me.

In our marginal existence, what else is there but this voice within us, this great weirdness we are always leaning forward to listen to?