I’m straight, but the

I’m straight, but the character was too important to me to muddle his world with my private life. As a nobody, I got away with that deflection. I think it may have helped to introduce Brian as a believable gay man. Maybe not. However it played, it’s been out of my hands for a long … Read more

Bin Laden wasn’t all

Bin Laden wasn’t all that central to the terrorist network any more, but taking him down created a kind of national catharsis. It’s been a really, really long time since we had something to celebrate that didn’t involve a sports team. I’d rather it had been a non-death-related occasion, but we’ll take what we can … Read more

One night a friend

One night a friend lent me a book of short stories by Franz Kafka. I went back to the pension where I was staying and began to read The Metamorphosis. The first line almost knocked me off the bed. I was so surprised. The first line reads, “As Gregor Samsa awoke that morning from uneasy … Read more

I write poetry because

I write poetry because I can’t disobey the impulse; it would be like blocking a spring that surges up in my throat. For a long time I’ve been the servant of the song that comes, that appears and can’t be buried away. How to seal myself up now?…It no longer matters to me who receives … Read more