I'll Tell You What I Really Think

I Think It Is The Responsibility Of A Citizen Of Any Country To Say What He Thinks.

I'm Not Committed As A Writer, In The Usual Sense Of The Term, Either Religiously Or Politically. And I'm Not Conscious Of Any Particular Social Function. I Write Because I Want To Write. I Don't See Any Placards On Myself, And I Don't Carry Any Banners.

As A Writer You're Holding A Dog. You Let The Dog Run About. But You Finally Can Pull Him Back. Finally, I'm In Control. But The Great Excitement Is To See What Happens If You Let The Whole Thing Go. And The Dog Or The Character Really Runs About, Bites Everyone In Sight, Jumps Up Trees, Falls Into Lakes, Gets Wet, And You Let That Happen. That's The Excitement Of Writing Plays-to Allow The Thing To Be Free But Still Hold The Final Leash.

Occasionally It Does Hit Me, The Words On A Page. And I Still Love Doing That, As I Have For The Last 60 Years.

A Writer's Life Is A Highly Vulnerable, Almost Naked Activity. We Don't Have To Weep About That. The Writer Makes His Choice And Is Stuck With It. But It Is True To Say That You Are Open To All The Winds, Some Of Them Icy Indeed. You Are Out On Your Own, Out On A Limb. You Find No Shelter, No Protection - Unless You Lie - In Which Case Of Course You Have Constructed Your Own Protection And, It Could Be Argued, Become A Politician.