"I must say, when I reread myself,..." - Quote by John Updike

“Reminiscence and self-parody are part of remaining true to oneself.”

“You can never get the smell of smoke out. Like the smell of failure in life.”

“The world ... is full of people who never knew what hit 'em, their lives are over before they wake up.”

“I have my books And my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, Hiding in my room, safe within my womb. I touch no one and no one touches me. I am a rock, I am an island.”

“Longfellow has his popularity, in the main, because he tells his story or his idea so that one needs nothing but his verses to understand it.”

“Swlmmlng After swallowing some water at Changsha I taste a Wuchang fish in the surf and swim across the Yangtze River that winds ten thousand li. I see the entire Chu sky. Wind batters me, waves hit me-I don't care. Better than walking lazily in the patio. Today I have a lot of time. Here on the river the Master said "Dying-dying into the past-is like a river flowing."”

“I'd like to be remembered not only for my body of work but also for specific novels. Ideally, I want to be remembered in the same way as Stephen King, who defined and exemplified excellence in the horror genre in the late 20th and early 21st century.”

“Real seriousness in regard to writing being one of the two absolute necessities. The other, unfortunately, is talent.”

“A poet's interest in craft never fades, of course.”