There's a tradition of public service in my family. I'm one of three boys that joined the military. My father was in the Peace Corps.

My mother went into the Peace Corps when she was sixty-eight.

In the Marine Corps, you meet this really broad segment of the country; you're working with people from all kinds of backgrounds. And it exposes you to the American military, particularly the American military at war.

The Peace Corps is a sort of Howard Johnson's on the main drag into maturity.

The Peace Corps is guilty of enthusiasm and a crusading spirit. But we're not apologetic about it.

I went straight from the Marine Corps to the MFA. The way that you would express things among Marines is somewhat different than the way you're supposed to express things in a creative-writing workshop.