Before writers are writers they are readers, living in books, through books, in the lives of others that are also the heads of others, in that act that is so intimate and yet so alone.

There are infinite shades of grey. Writing often appears so black and white.

The new architecture and urban design of segregation could be called Calvinist: they reflect a desire to live in a world of predestination rather than chance, to strip the world of its wide-open possibilities and replace them with freedom of choice in the marketplace.

It's all about a war of social impulses and beliefs that is as powerful in its way as a big hurricane.

The art is not one of forgetting but letting go. And when everything else is gone, you can be rich in loss.

Everyday life is a disaster, and disaster can liberate us.

In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation and trivialization to feel engaged, connected, purposeful, ready to give, to engage, to care, to learn.