My biggest fear is being forgotten. It’s something of a selfish fear; it’s egocentric, to be honest. But truly I am not afraid of dying, only of ceasing to matter when I am gone. I am a firm believer in the insignificance of the individual, after all--not that the individual does not matter, to be sure. More than anything, it is my understanding that, as life continues after us as it existed before us, it is useless to...

To be a good writer, you must be a good reader. It’s an undeniable truth, an immutable fact. And with reading, I think, the desire to write must eventually come. Literary phrasing, the rhythm of prose, seeps into the mind and permeates the thoughts. One can’t help but begin to think of the world in terms of chapters and volumes. I have been reading since before I can remember. I was a verbal child, and reading came to...