November is auspicious in so many parts of the country: the rice harvest is already in, the weather starts to cool, and the festive glow which precedes Christmas has began to brighten the landscape.

When I wake up every morning, I thank God for the new day.

I have tried to be very rational, although I know love and hate are not rational and explained feelings.

Language as a communication tool is the primary element from which literature is created. Even in pre-literate societies, it exists as songs, riddles, or epics that are chanted.

Art, whatever form it takes, requires hard work, craftsmanship and creativity. As a writer, I know my grammar, cadence, the music of prose, and the art of the narrative.

All dictators, the rich and famous, to the lowest security guard who holds a gun, easily forget that power is transitory.

I have always admired teachers because teaching, like the priesthood, medicine and writing, is a vocation. You don't become a teacher because you want wealth. It is the same with writing.

The Japanese bureaucracy is unique. It is also very powerful, although it is now the object of so much criticism. Many of Japan's brightest made it a pillar of strength and continuity.

We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers, and there is so little to read in them. It is the same with radio - all that noise, that artifice.

We are shallow because we are 'mayabang, ' ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human, much too human to mistake knowledge for wisdom.

Poetry is emotion, passion, love, grief - everything that is human. It is not for zombies by zombies.

There are two things that govern life.It is Positivity and Negativity.You can see life with a Positive eye or drag yourself into a Negative Action.

Knowledge evolves, understanding matures and wisdom progresses. Don't be so hung up on what you think you know.

Growing up is hard, love. Otherwise everyone would do it.

I've got the best parents you could ever ask for. My parents are from New Jersey, and they met in Vermont in college. My Dad grew up listening to heavy, psychedelic music. He's my biggest fan.

Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life.

Why doesn't the past decently bury itself, instead of sitting waiting to be admired by the present?

It's not fair. Why won't the media leave me alone? Why?

If you have any question in your mind, don't do it. If you go in thinking it's going to fix something that's wrong, don't do it.

We and God have business with each other, and in opening ourselves to God's influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled.

Where I'm from is like 'Hustle Flow' versus '8 Mile.' It's that really grimy, box-Chevy, dope-boy, working-class music.