I was a fervent Catholic, and I belonged to the national organizations, even becoming one of the national leaders, until the age of 21, 22.

We like lists because we don't want to die.

I seem to know all the cliches, but not how to put them together in a believable way. Or else these stories are terrible and grandiose precisely because all the cliches intertwine in an unrealistic way and you can't disentangle them. But when you actually live a cliche, it feels brand new, and you are unashamed.

...we can only add to the world, where we believe it ends, more parts similar to those we already know (an expanse made again and always of water and land, stars and skies).

We were clever enough to turn a laundry list into poetry.

Even today, I frequently meet scientists who, outside their own narrow discipline, are superstitious.

I consider always the adult life to be the continuous retrieval of childhood.