I wrote a novel about the combat experiences I didn't have in Vietnam.

I am grateful to Stacy Schiff first of all because she can write a sentence-because she offers us her scholarship with wit, clarity, and grace. Once again, she has done what only the best writers can do: she has made the world new, again.

In a very basic way, a prominent landmark such as Mt. Holyoke tells you where you are. They let you know that you're not the first person in a place

I'm going to a commune in Vermont and will deal with no unit of time shorter than a season.

If you had an essentially happy childhood, that tends to dwell with you.

I think if the writing comes too easily, it shows - it's usually hard to read.

Writing is revision. All prose responds to work.