I should be writing a poem every morning but I'm not.

Every gift is held by two hands: the one that gives, and the one that takes away.

I have no doubt that 'On the Road' is a Great American Novel. But I'm also certain my students will do fine without it.

When I first read 'On the Road,' it helped me figure out how to live against the grain. Now I wonder how to be subversive when the subversive has become mainstream.

In the time it takes American literary titan William H. Gass to write a novel, other artists have been born, completed their life's work and died. That may be an exaggeration, but only a slight one.

Discipline is what makes a writer. If writing was like lifting weights, then I'd look like Mr. Universe. Write every day. Give the Muse a chance to get to know you.

Oh, man, why is this the life? Why is it? Why is one rich and the other poor? Why is one black and the other white?

I came to the conclusion that unrealized hopes, even small ones, were always wrenching.

In everyday life, a blessed act of saying ‘hello, a smile, word of encouragement…’ can uplift someone spirit.

Waking up, for many people, is apparently a positive experience. There are twittering birds and the smell of fresh coffee fills the air.These people do not live at my house.

Don't you understand? I want to spend my life with you. I want you to be there when I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning.

I think I will be able to, in the end, rise above the clouds and climb the stairs to Heaven, and I will look down on my beautiful life.

Every advantage has its disadvantage.

Never get involved with someone who wants to change you

That's why we live by a river. Occasionally, I forget and pat Lit on the back--' 'I hate that.' King Midas & Lit

[A]ll will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies, and not blood.

For me and my storytelling and the way that I embrace stories in the way that I embrace characters, I desperately needed to know that everything was okay.