“Why did you become an English teacher?”

“I recognize the power of words. I think the act of reading is really important. It’s a modern meditation, it’s a way of getting in touch with one’s self, one’s inner world. I think it’s important to separate yourself sometimes from the external world because otherwise you don’t know where you stand or who you are. I’ll refer to an ancient Chinese term that I learned actually a summer ago. It’s called ‘Interior Empiricism’ and that you need to separate yourself and know your own thinking clearly before you can authentically engage with the world. And that’s just reading. I could say more about writing but I’m sure you don’t want all those words… I like silence too [laughter].”