As Failures Go, Attempting To Recall The

Out Of Dostoevsky: Kafka. Out Of Tolstoy: Margaret Mitchell. (in Conversation, Explaining His Dislike For Tolstoy)

My Poems Getting Published In Russia Doesn't Make Me Feel In Any Fashion, To Tell You The Truth. I'm Not Trying To Be Coy, But It Doesn't Tickle My Ego.

I Had This Fantasy Of Becoming A Neurosurgeon. You Know, The Normal Jewish Boy Fantasy, But I Wanted To Be A Neurosurgeon For Some Reason. So I Started In This Unpleasant Way. I Was An Assistant To The Coroner, Opening Up Corpses, Taking The Innards Out, Opening Skulls, Taking The Brains Out.

Who Included Me Among The Ranks Of The Human Race?

A Man Should Know About Himself Two Or Three Things: Whether He Is A Coward; Whether He Is An Honest Man Or Given To Lies; Whether He Is An Ambitious Man. One Should Define Oneself First Of All In Those Terms, And Only Then In Terms Of Culture, Race, Creed.