It is a long baptism into the seas of humankind, my daughter. Better immersion than to live untouched.

She would not exchange her solitude for anything. Never again to be forced to move to the rhythms of others.

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.

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.

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

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.

Writers in a profit making economy are an exploitable commodity whose works are products to be marketed, and are so judged and handled.