Chang-Rae Lee

“Even though I went to Exeter and Yale, and I enjoyed all the trappings of those places, I think at the same time - and maybe it's because I'm an immigrant kid and not white - there was always this other consciousness; that is, I was conscious of everything that was going on.”

“In my other books, things do happen, but they are kind of bookends to the real action, which for me was an exploration of consciousness. Not that I don't get into the consciousness of the people in 'The Surrendered,' but you could say there's not as much anxiety about it.”

“I remember when I was in art classes, I hated following the assignments. And I would get in trouble for doing something totally different or taking it in a weird direction.”

“I'm not the sort of writer who can plan out things. Mostly I have no idea where I'm going.”

“We know the point of the 2010 Census is to count us, one by one, to tally every last resident, but the massive project of course has more prying, if limited, interests.”

“I think book clubs should read more contemporary poetry.”

“Before I start my work in the morning, I need to have quickly browsed the entire paper, noting articles that I want to read during lunch.”

“I don't listen to music while writing; it seems to me I'm trying to make my own kind of music, and to have anything else going on is just noisy interference.”

“One of the ready advantages of writing a road or quest story is that it mirrors the experience of writing a novel.”

“I have a hard time revising sentences, because I spend an inordinate amount of time on each sentence, and the sentence before it, and the sentence after it.”

“What's fun about a dystopian novel is that we can enjoy and be entertained. But that world is only slightly different, right? It's familiar enough to be recognizable, and skewed enough to give us pause.”

“It's hard to write a war story without thinking about the 'Iliad.' Because the 'Iliad' knows everything about war.”

“I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish wish on my part.”

“I suppose people might consider me a 'loose' reader, as I seem willing to read anything of quality thinking and prose.”

“As for what's the most challenging aspect of teaching, it's convincing younger writers of the importance of reading widely and passionately.”

“I often think that the prime directive for me as a teacher of writing is akin to that for a physician, which is this: do no harm.”

“I don't believe complete assimilation is possible, at least not for anyone who has an active, open mind. Every step, every entry into the flows of existence can be seen as a beginning, a commencement of a brand new way of seeing oneself in the world. This is the case for everyone.”

“Like most people, I'm fascinated by characters who are completely flawed personalities, riven by anguish and doubt, and are psychologically suspect.”

“In my teaching, I try to expose my students to the widest range of aesthetic possibilities, so I'll offer them stories from Anton Chekhov to Denis Johnson, from Flannery O'Connor to A.M. Homes, and perhaps investigating all that strange variation of beauty has rubbed off on me. Or perhaps that's why I enjoy teaching literature.”

“My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled.”