Jonathan Galassi

A publisher - and I write as one - does far more than print and sell a book. It selects, nurtures, positions and promotes the writer's work.

Editing is more by-the-hip. You look at a text and ask yourself how it can be improved.

A lot of great authors are published before their time. That's not wrong; it's just the way it works.

I broke with my religion in college.

You have the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Presbyterians, the Wesleyans, represented in each school, and they are each to take alternate days.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.