The American Dream is a phrase we'll have to wrestle with all of our lives. It means a lot of things to different people. I think we're redefining it now

I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.

I loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child, then you put away childish things.

I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the ability to make utter strangers come alive.

It's unfortunate that sometimes in schools, there's this need to have things quantified and graded.

I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding.

What's a word, a talisman, to hold against the world?