I Turned Forty, And Im Finally Going

I Am A Better Writer For Having Fewer Demons, And I Am More Curious About The World And The People In It. So Those Of You Thinking You Might Need Your Demons In Order To Be Creative: I Beg To Differ.

I Judged About A Zillion Awards This Year So Ive Been Reading A Lot Of Books That Just Came Out.

I Believe In The Absolute And Unlimited Liberty Of Reading. I Believe In Wandering Through The Stacks And Picking Out The First Thing That Strikes Me. I Believe In Choosing Books Based On The Dust Jacket.

But That Incessant Drive To Be Out There In The Literary Universe That Was Important To Me When I Was In My Twenties, Like Going To A Paris Review Party Or Whatever, That Seems Totally Irrelevant Now.

I Suppose I Should Say That I Treasure Blasphemy, As A Faith Of The Highest Order.