To Be Able To Have The Space

It Is Very Hard To Trace The Effect Of Words On A Life.

I Think Young Children In The Western Middle Classes Are Objects Of Incredible Anxiety.

I Write Anywhere - When I Have An Idea It’s Hard Not To Write. I Used To Be Kind Of Precious About Where I Wrote. Everything Had To Be Quiet And I Couldn’t Be Disturbed, It Really Filled My Day.

We Have Lost The Art Of Public Tenderness, These Small Gestures Of Wiping And Washing; We Have Forgotten How Abjectly The Body Welcomes A Formal Touch.

I Do Wish I Could Write Like Some Of The American Women, Who Can Be Clever And Heartfelt And Hopeful; People Like Lorrie Moore And Jennifer Egan. But Ireland Messed Me Up Too Much, I Think, So I Can't.