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.

I've always used poetry to explain myself to myself. These things just sat in my psyche and then came out.

I'm a big action junkie. I grew up on the '80s action movies - the bad ones and the good ones.

It took me realizing that a broken heart has never actually killed anyone to find the courage to ask for what I want, in just about every situation. That was part of my own growing up.

It's a rare moment when we take a break from the tribulations of the daily rat race to reflect on assumptions and values that we casually accept as gospel.