Every moment is all the things that have happened before and all the things that are going to happen, and...the way all those things look at one point on their way along a line.

Art is inherently subversive. It’s destabilizing. It undermines what you already know and what you already think. It is the opposite of propaganda.

Whether it is done quickly or slowly, however splendid the results, the process of writing fiction is inherently, inevitably, indistinguishable from wasting time.

When one writes, there’s the double horror of discovering not only what it is that one so fears but also the triviality of that fear.

It's broadening. You meet people in your family you'd never happen to run into otherwise.

I always thought of writing as holy. I still do. It’s not something to be approached casually.

I'm a person with virtually no feelings.

Everything makes me angry, unless it makes me sad.

Sadness in autumn is an autumn within autumn!

Just be Nice. Nice—this little word has a big meaning. Use it generously. Being nice helps people feel emotionally safe, allowing for more authentic, trusting, and happy interactions.

Okay, but if you try to get me to pray with you, I walk.

I do not like violence.

An ordinary man seeks freedom through enlightenment. An enlightened man expresses freedom through being ordinary.

I fully credit my family for keeping me grounded and for putting me back in line whenever necessary.

When the theater gates open, a mob pours inside, and it is the poet's task to turn it into an audience.

Live as if everything you do will eventually be known.

Vision without passion is a picture without possibilities.

The American people need to know that money is being used effectively because frankly, the nation can't afford careless spending, no matter how well-intentioned.