...If I ever got sloppy and maudlin, it would be for the streets of my childhood—but no self- respecting writer should ever eulogize a slum...

...you fantasize about me reading my poems to you - it doesn't work that way - I write down everything later - living is not an after-thought...

...you can have a dark heart and be a writer, but you can't have a black one..

...each person is required to ask, 'what is my authority?' - on what do you base your decisions? if it's yourself, then you are without excuse...

...authority is the unmistakeable tone in the voice of a true writer...

...the making of stories is only one part of my craft -mainly, I'm a heart whisperer...

...writers, like priests, should have compassion...and a sensitivity to pain...

...what makes a writer a prophet is his ability to speak truth...

...when you're a writer, you become deeper and more uniquely distinct, the more you go inside yourself...