Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin. The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to each other.

The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.

In the act of writing, we confront our deepest fears and desires.

"To write is to confront the chaos of existence and give it form."

The opera is a beautiful and irrational world. One could spend a lifetime listening and still not understand everything.