My sister and I were born in San Francisco. When our parents died, we came down here to live with relatives.

Hopefully I'll be the first Mexican-American going into Hillbilly Heaven.

I'm a romantic, and we romantics are more sensitive to the way people feel. We love more, and we hurt more. When we're hurt, we hurt for a long time.

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights, it's about days very wrongly invested in a love affair.

Whenever I run into prejudice. I smile and feel sorry for them, and I say to myself, There's one more argument for birth control.

In my mind and in my heart, I feel okay. I cannot complain that I haven't lived long enough, but I'd like to live longer.

I was dreaming I was on the Sullivan Show.

I'm one year away from 70 and I've had a good run. I really believe I'm okay.

It is not all books that are as dull as their readers.

There comes a time when loneliness is stronger than fear.

There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune.

Suddenly in high school, I'm in a predominantly Jewish atmosphere. Jewish people were my gate to white America.

The fact is, we cannot drill our way to oil independence.

Slavery is, as an example of what white America has done, a constant reminder of what white America might do.

Great minds sink alike, right?

As a writer who writes poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, I think it's important to always maintain a firm grasp on genre and ethics.

Give your attention to the experience of seeing rather than to the object seen and you will find yourself everywhere.

Be grateful for yourself...be thankful.