what if the world that tried to tame us just forgot its own wild magic. And perhaps some of us; some brave, sensitive, fluttering, gentle rebels and poetic liberators are here to remind the world of what it once knew?

I prefer floors from chairs, window sills from desks. It's all very symbolic.

I don't feel particular brave, rebellious or liberated. I feel painfully sober and very, very human.

I felt that I should come home and see if there was something I could do for the people. Not for the country, not for the nation, not for the society, but for my people—that was my notion.

What’s the difference between the two things—between the country and the people—for you?

People buy my books. The country doesn’t.

I don’t research when I write novels, because imagination is my asset, my gift.

I have learned so many things from music about writing. I think there are three important elements: rhythm, harmony, and free improvisation. I learned these things from music, not from literature. And when I started to write, I tried to write as though I were playing music.