I Don't Want To Lose Hope.

I Never Can Satisfy Some Need In Me To Achieve Something Of Incredible Hight. For My Sake. It Puzzles Me Deeply. And It Sours My Life. So There Is A Permanent Dissatisfaction.

It Was A Very Difficult Time. I Was Working On [umble-ardy] When My Partner And Friend Was Dying Of Cancer. We Set Up A Room In The House To Be Like A Hospital Room. Eugene Died, And Then I Had Bypass Surgery. I Was Doing The Book To Stay Sane While All This Was Going On.

Make It Dangerous Or It's Not Worth Doing.

I Became A Set Designer For Opera. I'm A Great Opera Buff, I Love Classical Music, And I Needed A Time-out.

Once A Little Boy Sent Me A Charming Card With A Little Drawing On It. I Loved It. I Answer All My Children’s Letters — Sometimes Very Hastily — But This One I Lingered Over. I Sent Him A Card And I Drew A Picture Of A Wild Thing On It. I Wrote, “dear Jim: I Loved Your Card.” Then I Got A Letter Back From His Mother And She Said, “jim Loved Your Card So Much He Ate It.” That To Me Was One Of The Highest Compliments I’ve Ever Received. He Didn’t Care That It Was An Original Maurice Sendak Drawing Or Anything. He Saw It, He Loved It, He Ate It.