There was no way to grasp the reality of the present which slid away each second, invisible as air; reality only existed after the fact, in one's vision of the past.

When you read to a child, when you put a book in a child's hands, you are bringing that child news of the infinitely varied nature of life. You are an awakener.

A good novel begins with a small question and ends with a bigger one.

The minute you become conscious that you are doing good, that's the minute you have to stop because from then on it's wrong.

To be human is to be in a story.

Families hold each other in an iron grip of definition. One must break the grip, somehow.

The language of labels is like paper money, issued irresponsibly, with nothing of intrinsic value behind it, that is, with no effort of the intelligence to see, to really apprehend.

Literature is the province of imagination, and stories, in whatever guise, are meditations on life.

People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.

I was the goldfish that leapt out of the bowl.

Life is all getting used to what you're not used to.

*I’m hustling* is a low self-esteem having man’s way of saying *I’m unemployed, * when answering a seemingly materialistic woman’s question as to what he does for a living.

True poetry is the fragrance of the heart in the house of peace.

Honestly, I find the analysis of dreams is one of the dullest things. I say this as a therapist kid. I find them deeply uninteresting, as a window to the soul.

Christians are not so much in danger when they are persecuted as when they are admired.

Our Hispanic community needs to understand how important the Social Security system is for not only its retired citizens, but also its disabled workers.

I think I was able to endure risks not because I was ambitious about great stories but I was curious as a journalist.

Poetry has its own laws speaking for the life of the planet. It is a language that wants to bring back together what the other words have torn apart.

I looked at the cards in my hand, the queen of hearts nestled between the king of clubs and the king of spades. No wonder she was smiling.

I don't know that we're really going to need a label for the things we're thinking about doing next.

Susan is just great. I know I'm biased, but she's a great actress.