The circus leaves a sweet memory.

Bullfights have so much color. Not just the matador but also the bull, the arena, and the public. It's all very festive.

I have the sensation of doing something good for people, more than being a trendy artist or a successful artist.

The only duty an artist has is in the quality of the art. There is no moral obligation to denounce. An artist confronted with a tremendous injustice sometimes feels inclined to say something. Denouncing the situation is the artist's choice.

The advantage of writing from experience is that it often provides you with details that you would never think of yourself, no matter how rich your imagination. And specificity in description is something every writer should strive for.

When the poet is in love, he is incapable of writing poetry on love. He has to write when he remembers that he was in love.

Winners have the ability to step back from the canvas of their lives like an artist gaining perspective. They make their lives a work of art - an individual masterpiece.

One professor in college told me flat out I wasn't good enough to enter the creative writing program. I saved that letter and promised myself I would send it back to her when my first book came out.