If You Work At Comedy Too Laboriously,

Stories Worked Much The Same Way . . . A False Note At The Beginning Was Much More Costly Than One Nearer The End Because Early Errors Were Part Of The Foundation.

Why Mince Words? Beautiful Ruins Is An Absolute Masterpiece.

Movies Have To Handle Time Very Efficiently. They're About Stringing Scenes Together In The Present. Novels Aren't Necessarily About That.

If There's An Enduring Theme In My Work, It's Probably The Effects Of Class On American Life.

A Couple Years Ago, The Novelist Russell Banks Told Me He Was Reading The Ancient Greek Historian Herodotus. I Asked Why. He Said, 'because I've Always Wanted To And Am Tired Of Having My Reading Assigned.' I Thought It Was A Marvelous Declaration Of Independence.