I am the man, I suffered, I was there.
Can't escape pain, kiddo. Battle through it and you get stronger.
I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles.
Why are you being so mean?" "Friends tell friends the truth. " "yeah, but not to hurt, to help.
Write about the emotions you fear the most.
She cannot chain my soul. Yes, she could hurt me. She'd already done so. . . I would bleed, or not. Scar, or not. Live, or not. But she could not hurt my soul, not unless I gave it to her.
I wonder how long it would take for anyone to notice if I just stopped talking.
Has all the trappings of a mystery novel, doesn't it?
Something we do know is that review coverage does go to male authors more than women authors. That's a fact. I think it's one of those examples of unconscious bias: If you hire a lot of male journalists, they're more likely to pick up the latest Ian McEwan novel than the latest A. S. Byatt novel.
A mutual friend knew that we were both [with Iman Abdulmajid] on our own, with broken marriages and with children. We were brought to dinner one night. . . . It was absolutely instantaneous. I couldn't get her out of my mind. . . sleepless nights - real 18-year-old stuff.
Too many poets write poems which are only difficult on the surface, difficult because the dramatic situation is easily misunderstood. It's not difficult to write poems that are misunderstood. A drunk, a three-year-old-they are easily misunderstood. What is difficult is being clear and mysterious at the same time. The dramatic situation needs to be as clear in a poem as it is in a piece of good journalism. The why is part of the mystery, but the who, what, where, and when should all be understood.