I never became a writer for the money. I am a poet first. Even getting published is a miracle for poets.
The trick is not how much pain you feel – but how much joy you feel.
Hate generalizes; love is particular.
Blocks usually stem from fear of being judged. If you imagine the world is listening, you’ll never write a line.
Solitude is un-American.
Art is always an energy exchange.
I have forgotten my rave reviews and memorized my vicious ones – like most writers.
My grandchildren are fabulous and funny.
Show me a woman who doesn’t feel guilty and I’ll show you a man.
I don’t cook. My mother didn’t cook. My daughter doesn’t cook.
Men and women, women and men. It will never work.
I remember everything but forgive anyway.
Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own.
Every country gets the circus it deserves. Spain gets bullfights. Italy the Church. America Hollywood.
I write lustily and humorously. It isn’t calculated; it’s the way I think. I’ve invented a writing style that expresses who I am.
Is a currency worth anything if no one wants it? We used to buy shoes in Italy. Remember?
When I met my husband, I refused to invite him home for Passover because I was embarrassed my mother might serve all the catered dishes in the wrong order.
It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone.
Men have always detested women’s gossip because they suspect the truth: their measurements are being taken and compared.
What are the sources of poetry? Love and death and the paradox of love and death. All poetry from the beginning is about Eros and Thanatos. Those are the only subjects. And how Eros and Thanatos interweave.