It's hard for me to talk about the terrible things that have happened in my lifetime because they didn't need to be.

Think about all that we've lost that has been said orally because nobody was taking it down. I feel very fortunate to live in a time where we have so many different voices. We have a much richer literature than we've ever had, and we can know America so much better.

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

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

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.

That's what I want to be when I grow up, just a peaceful wreck holding hands with other peaceful wrecks.

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.