When I went to London, they told me I spoke with a funny accent - English with a Chinese accent.
My English was limited to vacationing and not really engaging with Americans. I knew 'shopping' and 'eating' English - I could say 'blue sweater,' 'creme brulee,' and 'Caesar salad,' - so I came here thinking I spoke English.
I've lived for 10 years in Switzerland, so I speak German.
My parents are both Belgian-born, and so am I, actually. I'm bilingual, so I had experience with French.
One of the benefits of being a mature well-educated woman is that you're not afraid of expletives. And you have no fear to put a fool in his place. That's the power of language and experience. You can learn a lot from Shakespeare.
Literature is always something - it is either story or poetry, ideally both. That is, you always know what it is and even if the interpretation is not available, the experience of language is.
I used to speak Italian.
The logic of the poet - that is, the logic of language or the experience itself - develops the way a living organism grows: it spreads out towards what it loves, and is heliotropic, like a plant.
I enjoyed learning French, and I enjoyed speaking French.
It's so rich as a trope - the whole idea of the road and it being in terms of language, being an active experience.
