I never learnt to wriite, apart from literacy. There was no such thing in my day. I read all the time, though. By the time, I was 14, I had read most of the classis, or what was regarded as the classsic in the 50s and 60s.

I have never read literary books, except those I was forced to read during school days. I find it amusing that, about a decade ago, I read that the majority of literary fiction publishers were closing down. Why? There wasn't a market for it. The only market comprises schools and universities.

I believe that by forcing literary fiction down the throats of kids, one destroys the love of reading. I also find literary fuction dreary, as if we have to have injustice, agony, and other negativities explained to us. We experience these things in every- day life.

I do believe the fact that I read extensively from the age if seven influenced my ability to write. That said, by the age of 5, I was already composing in my head, and I couldn't wait to get to school to put it all on paper.