There are things in American culture that want to wipe the class distinction. Blue jeans. Ready-made clothes. Coca-Cola.

Henry Miller wrote novels, but he calls his protagonist Henry, often Henry Miller, and his books are in this gray area between memoir and novel.

I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.

I think the pattern of my essays is, A funny thing happened to me on my way through Finnegans Wake.

Gertrude Stein really thought of Hemingway as frail. He almost married Stein.

The text is merely one of the contexts of a piece of literature, its lexical or verbal one, no more or less important than the sociological, psychological, historical, anthropological or generic.

Raymond Carver is good. I think he'll be appreciated more and more. He's an easy writer to imitate.

I have, I admit, a low tolerance for detached chronicling and cool analysis.

My assignment is what every writer's assignment is: tell the truth of his own time.

The black situation has changed. They finally realized they're Americans.

I liked Camille Paglia. I liked her even better when I heard her talk.

Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.

A sword wields no strength, unless the hand that holds it has courage.

But most of all, I'll remember how she loved me. I turn away, knowing that I might never get to see Julie Murphy again. But I will know her for the rest of my life.

But only in mad people fear goes on constant night and day, wearing one ditch in the mind that all thoughts must travel in.

If wool shrinks when you wash it, why don't sheep get smaller when it rains?

When I'm recording something (especially because I produce my own music) I might consider how hard it would be to replicate a song on stage.

Whenever you are ready, or if you never are, my heart is yours.

Life was mostly made up of things you couldn’t control, full of surprises, and they weren’t always good. Life wasn’t what you made it. You were what life made you.

The casinos brought lots of revenue and jobs to our community. We've seen lots of benefits from those tax dollars.