The difference between that which is humane and that which is patriotic is a vital difference.

Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another - physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.

I wanted to separate color from race. Distinguishing color - light, black, in-between - as the marker for race is really an error.

Sometimes Joyce is hilarious. I read Finnegans Wake after graduate school and I had the great good fortune of reading it without any help. I don't know if I read it right, but it was hilarious! I laughed constantly! I didn't know what was going on for whole blocks but it didn't matter because I wasn't going to be graded on it. I think the reason why everyone still has so much fun with Shakespeare is because he didn't have any literary critic. He was just doing it; and there were no reviews except for people throwing stuff on stage. He could just do it.

You free. Nothing and nobody is obliged to save you but you.

My theory is that the world is a difficult place to live in and distraction is the name of the game.

I write the way women have babies. You don't know it's going to be like that. If you did, there's no way you would go through with it.