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Shirley Jackson enjoyed notoriety and commercial success within her lifetime, and yet it still hardly seems like enough for a writer so singular. When I meet readers and other writers of my generation, I find that mentioning her is like uttering a holy name.

There was a time in American history when almost every white person knew who Aretha Franklin was.

I know my mother so well, so it's hard for me to remember that people have a certain image of her, but they don't really know her personality.

I'm a big fan of the poet Mary Jo Salter, and although she doesn't need to be discovered at all - she's widely admired and anthologized and extremely accomplished - I wish she were a household name.

I was named Margaret Yvonne. 'Margaret' because my mother was very fond of one of the derivatives of the name. She was fascinated at the time by the movie star Baby Peggy, and I suppose she wanted a Baby Peggy of her own.

I don't want to be known as the Hilton heiress, because I didn't do anything for that.

M. F. K. Fisher was a wonder and a huge influence, and someone I got to know pretty well at the end of her life.

You ask any person in the U.S. and they know who Mary Lou Retton is.