I have lots of fiction in the drawer, but the essays I mostly kick out into the world, ready or not. Fiction incubates differently, I suppose.

Where exactly do you put your hands on somebody who hurts everywhere?

Really, I think among the many mistakes I've made over my life, one of them was caring so much about the short story.

Behind each piece, animating every attempt, is the echo of a precarious faith, that we are more intimately bound to one another by our kindred doubts than our brave conclusions.

Folks double my age and older often run down a conversation tracking a vanishing world that will, with the passing of their memory, vanish entirely.

If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.

But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can memory. So can biting your tongue. My bad nights were beginning. I couldn't sleep.

Every time I make American film I just trust American directors and American writers.

All I ever wanted to do was be able to pay my rent.

Either accept people for what they are, or don't. So, in other words, man, if people don't know me, I think they do themself an injustice. Because, as a whole, I think I'm a good person.

Older, you know, is obviously relative. You're older if there's somebody younger than you in the room, and you're younger if there's someone older in the room.

I wonder whether she was sorry for leaving us behind.

If we are looking for one single action which will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, I would focus on credit

My wigs are ever changing in height, width, color, size. They make me feel happy. Wearing them makes me feel like I can be a different person every day and that is kind of exciting.

It's a wonderful feeling to be a bridge to the past and to unite generations. The sport of baseball does that, and I am just a part of it.