Feminism now seems to be defined as success is defined: as being as good at capitalism as men are. I feel very estranged from it.
A wild appreciation of men and women . . . who passionately and fearlessly and recklessly redefine romance. . . . The passionate creatures who refuse to play it safe and settle down now have an intelligent, like-minded advocate.
I wish other people would write about loneliness more. It's hard to remember that it's not personal. We live in a world that is built to make people lonely... It's difficult to remember that your loneliness is not really about you and everyone has it.
Once you leave, you're no longer of that country, but you are never actually of the country that you go to, and if you go back, you're not anywhere. You never belong to anything.
American culture never necessarily made sense to me, but they should warn you: leaving comes with a huge sense of alienation that never goes away.
Talk to people who know more than you. I feel like we're in this stupid sea of opinion, like "My opinion is valid because it's mine and I have it."
I understand maybe some people are more impressionable than my hard, cynical self, but maybe they need to figure out how to be less of that.
You don't have to go to New York and you don't have to go to LA or London. Go somewhere cheap. Go somewhere with free art museums and then just go to art museums.
Women still get angry at me. I mean, men go after me sometimes, but most of the bad responses come from women.
I never asked anybody to take me seriously.
I have a really good life and I really like it.
I don't behave the way people necessarily want me to, but I tried behaving that other way for a short period of time and it didn't take.
I think American literature is in a tedious place, horrible place. I can't even engage with it.
I knew my motivations for going to each place and what I was looking for. If I don't do that then I generally don't write about my travels.
I like European and South American literature, but mostly I read nonfiction.
I was twenty-one when I was hired by Planned Parenthood. It was my first work experience outside of either temping or working for my father at his store.
I don't think that I can be settled and I don't think that I would ever want to be.
My belief that the publishing industry is run by prigs and cowards dates back to many years before I even had the idea for the book.
Men exist on the planet. We have to deal with them at some point.
I don't think that if I had spent the time that I was in, say, Belgrade, writing about my time in Trieste, which is where I had just been, that would have been productive. I told myself: take extensive notes while you're there, do the research part of it, and then pray, pray, the muses will be available when the actual 'ready' happens.
I mean, many times your creative problem is accidentally your personal problem, but it's not quite the same.
Most of what I do is for creative people - writers and painters and photographers - trying to work through creative problems.
I have yet to get sued. My father thinks I should get liability insurance.
I don't think you can write an experience as you're having it without being an idiot.
I don't tell clients what to do. I don't even really tell them what the future is.
