Mine Is Not An Autonomous Imagination.

Most Of The People I Write About Have Been Ambitious Outlanders Who Have Been Attracted To New York From Other Parts Of The World.

The Only Sensible Approach Is Not To Take It Too Seriously. What Counts Is The Writing.

I Realized That I Might Not Ever Make It As A Writer, That It Might Be Because I Wasn't Good Enough, Or That It Might Be Because The Odds Were Just Too Long.

I Was Fortunate To Get A Lot Of Mileage Out Of My Vices . . . The Point Is Not To Be Debilitated By Your Pleasures. Maybe I Have Lucky Genes Or Something But I've Never Been Truly Addicted To Anything, Except Pleasure In General.

Bottles Of Wine Aren't Like Paintings. At Some Point You Have To Consume Them. The Object In Life Is To Die With No Bottles Of Wine In Your Cellar. To Drink Your Last Bottle Of Wine And Go To Sleep That Night And Not Wake Up.