I found that life intruding on writing was, in fact, life. And that, tempting as it may be for a writer who is a parent, one must not think of life as an intrusion. At...

Certain brands of guilt can be inculcated in a secular way but other brands of guilt can only be obtained with reference to the metaphysical.

I’ve never been in love, never in my life.Oh, I’ve dreamed of love, dreamed endlessly, day and night,but my soul is like a fine piano that’s locked,and the key is lost.

This is what it is to love an artist: The moon is always rising above your house. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. But he is always going away from...

Oh, where is it, where did my past go, when I was young, happy and intelligent, when my dreams and thoughts had some grace, and the present and future were lit up with hope? Why...

A wedding is for daughters and fathers. The mothers all dress up, trying to look like young women. But a wedding is for a father and daughter. They stop being married to each other on...

I think a person has to believe in something,or search out some kind of faith;otherwise life is empty, nothing.How can you live not knowing why the cranes fly,why children are born, why there are stars...

Orpheus said the mind is a slide ruler. It can fit around anything. Show me your body, he said. It only means one thing.

What silly little things sometimes take on meaning in life, suddenly, out of nowhere. And you know they’re little nothings, and you laugh at them, but all the same, you go on feeling them, you...

When I am not paying attention to my children, they appear to desperately need it. When I am giving them my full attention, they seem just as happy to play by themselves. It is as...

When you read a novel, it seems that everything is clear, trite and understandable. But when you yourself fall in love, you understand that nobody knows anything and everyone must decide for themselves.

I hate parties.And a wedding is the biggest party of all.All the guests arrived and Orpheus is taking a shower.He’s always taking a shower when the guests arrive so he doesn’t have to greet them.Then...

When you snatch happiness in little bits, fits and starts, and lose it, like me, you become coarse, little by little, you become hateful.

I always thought there would be more interesting people at my wedding.

Orpheus never liked words. He had his music. He would get a funny look on his face and I would say what are you thinking about and he would always be thinking about music.

If we were in a restaurant sometimes Orpheus would look sullen and wouldn’t talk to me and I thought people felt sorry for me. I should have realized that women envied me. Their husbands talked...