Literature is a place for generosity and affection and hunger for equals - not a prizefight ring. We are increased, confirmed in our medium, roused to do our best, by every good writer, every fine achievement. Would we want one good writer or fine book less? The sense of writers being pitted against each other is bred primarily by the workings of the commercial marketplace, and by critics lauding one writer at the expense of another while ignoring the existence of nearly all.

And when is there time to remember, to sift, to weigh, to estimate, to total?

Better immersion than to live untouched.

More than in any other human relationship, overwhelmingly more, motherhood means being instantly interruptible, responsive, and responsible

I could not live by literature if only to begin with, because of the slow maturing of my work and its special character.

There are worse words than cuss-words, there are words that hurt.

I very much dislike the word "race," and I never use it. I use the word "racist." Race is not a fact. There is only one race: human. Skin color is less than 2 percent of the DNA.