How exquisitely human was the wish for permanent happiness, and how thin human imagination became trying to achieve it.

When there is pain, there are no words. All pain is the same.

Can't nothing heal without pain, you know.

Beginning 'Beloved' with numerals rather than spelled out numbers, it was my intention to give the house an identity separate from the street or even the city.

When you stiffen, you know that whatever you stiffen about is very important. The stuff is important, the fear itself is information.

What's interesting about writing is the invention, the creative thing. Writing about myself is a yawn.

Some Native American writers enjoy being called Native American writers.