It's striking how commercially viable that impulse for instant intimacy is right now, especially in songs and writing.

My intellect has always been more responsible than my emotions for how I respond to the world.

I loved the atmosphere of the dance studios - the wooden floors, the big mirrors, everyone dressed in pink or black tights, the musicians accompanying us - and the feeling of ritual the classes had.

You have to defend your honor. And your family.

Writing in other voices is almost Japanese in the sense that theres a certain formality there which allows me to sidestep the embarrassment of directly expressing to complete strangers the most intimate details of my life.

Don't uncork what you can't contain

And I really wanted a driver's license. I was 43, had my learner's permit and had failed the test once already - but that was in Riverhead, on Long Island.