That's One Of The Privileges Of Old

Words Themselves Are Innocuous; It Is The Consensus That Gives Them True Power.

Writers Are Voracious Readers. Once I Unlocked The Mystery Of The Alphabet That Led To Words, A Multitude Of Words Connecting Me To The World, There Was No Stopping Me. Everything Was Fair Game, From Louisa May Alcott To My Older Cousin's True Romance Magazines, From Lewis Carroll To The Backs Of Cereal Boxes. All Of This Fed Me, But It Took Certain Books To Make Me Grow. I Don't Want To Work Without A Sense Of Drama, Without Passion, Or Without Both Eyes Open To The World Around Me.

A Loud Voice Is Not Always Angry; A Soft Voice Not Always To Be Dismissed; And A Well-placed Silence Can Be The Indisputable Last Word.

The Last Time You're Doing Something - Knowing You're Doing It For The Last - Makes It Even More Alive Than The First.

There Is A Problem In America. An Irish Or Polish American Can Write A Story And It's An American Story. When A Black American Writes A Story, It's Called A Black Story. I Take Exception To That. Every Artist Has Articulated To His Own Experience. The Problem Is That Some People Do Not See Blacks As Americans.