Today, there's no present to people. Nobody wants to listen for very long to anybody talking, except in certain places—in a bar, in a confessional, or maybe a shrink's office. All they say is, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Men don't even tell dirty jokes much anymore.


The Paris Review, Issue 172, Winter 2004, The Art of Fiction No. 184


Today, there's no present to people. Nobody wants to listen for very long to anybody talking, except in certain places—in a bar, in a confessional, ...

Today, there's no present to people. Nobody wants to listen for very long to anybody talking, except in certain places—in a bar, in a confessional, ...

Today, there's no present to people. Nobody wants to listen for very long to anybody talking, except in certain places—in a bar, in a confessional, ...

Today, there's no present to people. Nobody wants to listen for very long to anybody talking, except in certain places—in a bar, in a confessional, ...