I Don't Know If I'm Truly At

If An American Teenager Were To Come To Lahore, They'd Have Wildly Different Experiences Depending On Whom They Met. They Could Party And Get Drunk And Smoke Hashish With Some, While Others Would Say, "let's Get Some Religious Instruction."

Some Of My Relatives Held On To Imagined Memories The Way Homeless People Hold Onto Lottery Tickets. Nostalgia Was Their Crack Cocaine, If You Will, And My Childhood Was Littered With The Consequences Of Their Addiction : Unserviceable Debts, Squabbles Over Inheritances, The Odd Alcoholic Or Suicide.

I Don't Listen To Music When I Write. I Need Silence So I Can Hear The Sound Of The Words.

I Think I've Always Been Drawn To The Second Person. When I Was Growing Up And Playing With My Friends, The Usual Way We Interacted With Imaginary Worlds Was As Characters: A Bench Was 'your' Boat, Leaves On A Lawn Were The Fins Of Sharks Out To Get 'you.'

As A Child I Read All Kinds Of Stuff, Whether It Was 'asterix And Obelix' And 'tin Tin' Comic Books, Or 'lord Of The Rings,' Or Frank Herbert's Sci-fi. Or 'the Wind In The Willows.' Or 'charlotte's Web.'