We're supposed to do all these things which trouble us deeply because it's so against what we naturally would want to do.

Kids are so shrewd.

I want to write something so simple, so short and so silly... and I want it to be for my brother.

Mothers and children are human beings, and they will sometimes do the wrong thing.

I hate those e-books. They cannot be the future. They may well be.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly.

Grown-ups are afraid for children. It's not children who are afraid.

You don't want to do something that's all terrifying.

I'm scared of watching a TV show about vampires. I can't fall asleep.

I feel like I don't have a lot of time left.

I feel extremely vulnerable.

All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy.

I think people should be given a test much like driver's tests as to whether they're capable of being parents!

Kids lead a very private life.

Most children - I know I did when I was a kid - fantasize another set of parents. Or fantasize no parents. They don't tell their real parents about that - you don't want to tell Mom and Dad.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly. Kids don't. We do.

I hate those e-books. They can not be the future... they may well be... I will be dead.

When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can't explain... I don't need to. I know that if there's a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.

I have a little tiny Emily Dickinson so big that I carry in my pocket everywhere. And you just read three poems of Emily. She is so brave. She is so strong. She is such a sexy, passionate, little woman. I feel better.

I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.

I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.

You can't write masterpieces in your 80s and be happy too.

People from New York have been calling, to see if I'm still alive. When I answer the phone, you can hear the disappointment in their voice.

I'm writing a poem right now about a nose. I've always wanted to write a poem about a nose. But it's a ludicrous subject. That's why, when I was younger, I was afraid of something that didn't make a lot of sense. But now I'm not. I have nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter.