You've heard of people calling in sick. You may have called in sick a few times yourself. But have you ever thought about calling in well

I believe in nothing, everything is sacred. I believe in everything, nothing is sacred.

Like the Arthurian years at Camelot, the Sixties constituted a breakthrough, a fleeting moment of glory, a time when a significant little chunk of humanity briefly realised its moral potential and flirted with its neurological destiny, a collective spiritual awakening that flared brilliantly until the barbaric and mediocre impulses of the species drew tight once more the curtains of darkness.

To an artist a metaphor is as real as a dollar.

In the beginning was the thing. And one thing led to another.

To the extent that this world surrenders its richness and diversity, it surrenders its poetry; to the extent that it relinquishes its capacity to surprise, it relinquishes its music; to the extent that it loses its ability to tolerate ridiculous and even dangerous exceptions, it loses its grace.

When I sit down to write, I just let the goose out of the bottle.