The Quarantine Tapes

“The notion that we are an indispensable nation, which has been around for decades, or that we have the right to triumphalism and the end of civilization with the United States winning the civilization game, I think should be jettisoned right now, but they also should have been jettisoned years ago. A great nation, in my mind, doesn’t need to boast. A great nation needs to get its act together at home for its own people.”

“Western language doesn’t give us that space in between. Either you hope and you’re optimistic or you’re pessimistic. There’s a clear either white or black, there’s no gray in between.”

“It’s a big question, the “where are we” with politics, with cultural discourse, with the media, all of it, but through it all, I do feel optimistic somewhat. And we could try to parse it down--where does the optimism come from? As a publisher, you have to be an optimist.”

”Who is at the center of your vision? ‘Cause if the poor and the sick and the unemployed and those facing eviction are not at the center of your vision, you will misuse your position because nothing is guiding you.”

“A lot of times we want every line to be its own character, and you can do that. I like some of that writing, but is it in the service of the paragraph? And is the paragraph in service of the page? And is that page in service of the book? And the larger question is that book in the service of a liberatory vision?”

“Contending with this immeasurable grief is what made me a writer.”

“Art is made from life. And, so, how do we encourage a kind of life that has meaning and purpose on a very small level, in our personal worlds and in the worlds of the people we love?”

“You realize that we’re so spoiled, we just want to do whatever we want to do at any time. We’re just so used to having our needs met whenever we want, and this is a time of just great discipline.”

“When I’m walking, I’m trying to keep my eyes open and my ears open and my mind open. To be open, and observant. To look for the poem in my walk. I am walking and looking for the poem to meet me.”

“We’re in a severely divided country and my question I’m carrying is, 'How can I be a good citizen in a divided country?'”.