“There is a wicked and pervading arrogance loose on the earth, like a rabid beast, an overdog. Does it run, does it slouch, does its name have a number? The beast preaches contempt, for that's what arrogance says: that nothing is real but itself, and the bone and blood of another's being are insubstantial as breath.”

“I didn't find my story; it found me, as autobiography always does: finds you out in your deepest most private places.”

“Poetry is a way of coming to know the realness of things; fiction is a way of coming to know the world of relationships; nonfiction is a way of coming to know the world of the mind.”

“The story of his great-grandfather . . . was his own story, too.”

“Having sex multiple times on the first sleepover does not count as more than one “date”…”

“Do not turn your face from others with pride, nor walk arrogantly on earth. Verily the Almighty does not like those who are arrogant and boastful.”

“Never run after a man or a bus, there's always another one in five minutes.”