Primarily, I\u27d say that I write because I enjoy it. The sheer act of writing is a source of great pleasure for me. In the process of writing poetry or fiction I begin to discover what my deepest concerns and desires are, and I have found to my delight (like a secret gift built into the medium I use) that I have the technical ability to explore them. This is not to say that I write in order to \u27express myself\u27 because, frankly, my way of life gives me plenty of opportunity to do that. When I come across \u27self-expression\u27 in a book or an article- it\u27s easy to recognize, it\u27s the literary equivalent of posturing before a mirror - it\u27s an instant tum-off as far as I am concerned. l become extremely suspicious of the author\u27s pretensions and motives. The book becomes boring. I abandon it
