If art is not to be life-enhancing, what is it to be? Half the world is feminine - why is there resentment at a female-oriented art? Nobody asks The Tale of Genji to be masculine! Women certainly learn a lot from books oriented toward a masculine world. Why is not the reverse also true? Or are men really so afraid of women's creativity?

I simply adore being alone - I find it a consuming thirst - and when that thirst is slaked, then I am happy.

They are commiting murder who merely live.

For any writer who wants to keep a journal, be alive to everything, not just to what you're feeling, but also to your pets, to flowers, to what you're reading.

There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much.

We have to believe that every person counts, counts as a creative force that can move mountains.

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.