“If social stability goes pear-shaped, you have a choice between anarchy and dictatorship. Most people will opt for more security,...”

“I've never understood why people consider youth a time of freedom and joy. It's probably because they have forgotten their own.”

“The society in 'The Handmaid's Tale' is a throwback to the early Puritans whom I studied extensively at Harvard under Perry Miller...”

“I don't think of poetry as a 'rational' activity but as an aural one. My poems usually begin with words or phrases which appeal mo...”

“The genesis of a poem for me is usually a cluster of words. The only good metaphor I can think of is a scientific one: dipping a t...”

“Every aspect of human technology has a dark side, including the bow and arrow.”

“The Arab World is writing a new future the pen is in our own hands.”

“I have four shelves covered with journals that I've written. Dad and I are writing songs together. I've probably written 100 songs...”

“When I started writing, I did have some idealised notion of my dad as a writer. But I have less and less of a literary rivalry wit...”

“I remember my dad working with me on breaking down my script and writing out a back story for my character and all that stuff.”

“My only writing ritual is to shave my head bald between writing the first and second drafts of a book. If I can throw away all my...”

“I used to be a freelance journalist, so I had to write fast, but I always found writing nonfiction constraining. I like the freedo...”