I Would Not Send A

While The Astronauts, Heroes Forever, Spent Mere Hours On The Moon, I Have Remained In This New World For Nearly Thirty Years. I Know That My Achievement Is Quite Ordinary. I Am Not The Only Man To Seek His Fortune Far From Home, And Certainly I Am Not The First. Still, There Are Times I Am Bewildered By Each Mile I Have Traveled, Each Meal I Have Eaten, Each Person I Have Known, Each Room In Which I Have Slept. As Ordinary As It All Appears, There Are Times When It Is Beyond My Imagination." (from "the Third And Final Continent")

For That Story, I Took As My Subject A Young Woman Whom I Got To Know Over The Course Of A Couple Of Visits. I Never Saw Her Having Any Health Problems - But I Knew She Wanted To Be Married.

A Writer Has To True To Him Or Herself. Period. That’s It!

When I Sit Down To Write, I Don't Think About Writing About An Idea Or A Given Message. I Just Try To Write A Story Which Is Hard Enough.

Gogol Is Unaccustomed To This Sort Of Talk At Mealtimes, To The Indulgent Ritual Of The Lingering Meal, And The Pleasant Aftermath Of Bottles And Crumbs And Empty Glasses That Clutter The Table.