Alice McDermott

A perfect poem you can't pin down and say, 'This is exactly what it meant to me.' It's not a self-help manual.

I'm not usually drawn to memoir - many run the risk of self-aggrandizement or score-settling.

Loss is inevitable - you have to be blind or naive to think otherwise.

I've learned that even the word 'jubilee' used in connection with the Reformation can give rise to discussions.

Golf without bunkers and hazards would be tame and monotonous. So would life.

I've always been very determined, ever since I was a little girl, to make my way.