'In Memoriam' has been my companion for all my grownup life.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I keep a quotes journal - of every sentence that I've wanted to remember from my reading of the past 30 years.
In my eighties, my best friends are in their fifties, and I have many friends at university. It keeps one young, and up with the vocabulary. That's terribly important, especially for a writer.
The Room I wrote in 1957, and I was really gratified to find that it stood up. I didn't have to change a word.
I am aware of the words 'national treasure' being attached to me occasionally. It just makes me feel old.
The intricacies, the problems, the trials and tribulations in relationships inspire me to give words to people's journeys.
One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer.
In my experience an appreciative letter from a fellow writer means a lot.
My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that people want to read them.
I wish I were one of those terribly clever people who, when they write their autobiographies, always say, when I was fifteen months old I distinctly remember my Aunt Fanny saying to me, etc.
It was my care to make my life illustrious not by words more than by deeds.