i met daniel beckett, too. the finest writer now that i have met is robert stone. he is someone i admire a great deal. >> what is it that, when do you conclude that they are great writers? >> i conclude they are great writers when they leave me to make associations, connections, leaps in my mind that i do not feel i could have made otherwise. which once i made them, they felt inevitable somehow. >> who do you think rates today in this society, could, non- fiction political writing? >> i am a fan of a lot of writers. i love christopher hichens. it is not important for me to agree with political writers, it is important for me to carry along with their argument so i can entertain their points at youthfully. other political writers? there are people at the atlantic like james fallin. as far as columnists type writers, i like frank rich. it is hard to go through it all. >> where do you live right now? >> i live in livingston, montana. i live in a loft. i do almost all of my writing there. i found it necessary at an early stage in my career, about 20 years ago, to remov