We're always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it's a little raw and nervy.

We're always attracted to the edges of what we are, out by the edges where it's a little raw and nervy.

My father was the proprietor of a music shop on Forty-third Street, where many of the finest performers and musicians of the day would come to shop. He knew the classical repertoire inside out.

Here's how it goes: I'm up at the stroke of 10 or 10:30. I have breakfast and read the papers, and then it's lunchtime. Then maybe a little nap after lunch and out to the gym, and before I know it, it's time to have a drink.

The important thing is not to be too comfortable when you're writing. Noise in the street? That's good. The computer goes down? That's good. All these things are good. It has to be a little bit of a struggle.

People come out of the mid-west and go to the Ivy League. I kind of reversed the direction.