Love Is The Only Disease That Makes

The Great Thing For Me, Now, Is That Writing Has Become More And More Interesting. Not Just As A Craft But As A Way Into Things That Are Not Described. It's A Thing Of Discovering. That's When Writing Is Really Working. You're On The Trail Of Something And You Don't Quite Know What It Is.

My First Job Was With The Burns Detective Agency. They Sent Me Over To The East River To Guard Coal Barges During These God-awful Hours Like Three To Six In The Morning. It Wasn't A Very Difficult Job -- All I Had To Do Was Make A Round Every Fifteen Minutes -- But It Turned Out To Be A Great Environment For Writing. I Was Completely Alone In A Little Outhouse With An Electric Heater And A Little Desk.

It's Hard To Explain Why Exactly, But I Think That When I Began Writing Plays, It Was From An Actor's Point Of View More Than Anything. I Had The Feeling That If You Put Yourself In The Position Of The Actor On Stage And Write From That Perspective, It Would Give You A Certain Advantage In Terms Of Being Inside Of The Play.

I Don't Get Offered Leading Parts. I Suppose I've Become A Kind Of Character Actor Or Sideman. I Think It Had To Do With Probably In The '90s, I Refused So Many Leading Roles That They Gave Up On Me, Or I Just Became Unpopular, Or I Became Old. All Those Reasons.

Sides Are Being Divided Now. It's Very Obvious. So If You're On The Other Side Of The Fence, You're Suddenly Anti-american. It's Breeding Fear Of Being On The Wrong Side.