"Saul Bellow never took my advice when he was my friend." — Leslie Fiedler

When somebody asks me what I do, I don't think I'd say critic. I say writer.

When I was 12 years old, someone took me to see Martha Graham. It was nothing like what I thought of as serious dancing and even then I knew I was having a great experience. It was as if somebody was moving through space like no one ever did before.

When all of us are forgotten, people will still be remembering Stephen King.

What I really dream of is that somebody would blow everything I've done out of the water in a beautiful way, which would clear the way for something better to come along.