My wife and daughter have accused me of being too silent at breakfast but I don't want to talk when I don't have much to say.

In the best nonfiction, it seems to me, you're always made aware that you are being engaged with a supple mind at work. The story line or plot in nonfiction consists of the twists and turns of a thought process working itself out.

For most of my life, I have wanted broad impact but now, at 72, I'm not so sure that's always my first priority.

The trick is to realize that one is not important, except insofar as one’s example can serve to elucidate a more widespread human trait and make readers feel a little less lonely and freakish.

Domesticity has been a challenge for me but painful as it's been, engaging with family has been a school for reducing solipsism and increasing my understanding of people's different reactions to stress.

Until people see poetry as springing from all of life, they will isolate it in a creativity corner and treat it like a mascot.

Confession makes you a more trustworthy narrator.