I'm shocked and surprised by people that are shocked and surprised that certain things in life are made up or not as true as you might believe them to be.

Everybody is so sure about everything these days. Just look at your horrible Facebook feed on the most recent tragedy that people are commenting on.

This [Thelonious Monk: The Life And Times Of An American Original] is another one of those books with the perfect blend of anecdote and analysis. The analysis is built into the anecdote. It has that right feel about it. It's not too scholarly, either.

Writing should be like skirts. Long enough to cover what it needs to cover and short enough to maintain interest.

Fellini is a just a province kid. Rome exists for Fellini, not the other way around.

In memoir, can you really tell the truth about yourself? You're not going to write about your little peccadilloes, like, "I like a finger in my ass during sex." Or whatever it is. You're not going to come out in typical everyday conversation and say that. That's something that's going to be only for a select few.

I think all good art is outsider art.