I have admired Melissa Pritchard's writing for several years now for its wisdom, its humble elegance, and its earthy comedy.

I think literature is best when it's voicing what we would prefer not to talk about.

I believe that God locates himself at the spot where you recognize your own fallibility....And the paradox of it all has been that whenever I give up I seem to do better.

My contention is that that style is just as stylized as an ornate style.

I sort of hate the novel when it doesn't push, restlessly, against the tradition and the traditional.

The Great Recession is not imaginary, and the effects loom large. There was an article in the NYT about the galloping death rate among white men in middle age. Higher than among any other demographic, etc. Mostly death by drugs, alcohol, or suicide. Many of them rural. My feeling is that it's many people who haven't been able to get back into the work force. Reg Morse is an example of the problem.

I suppose I should say that I treasure blasphemy, as a faith of the highest order.