Joyce Carol Oates

Quotes

• “When writing goes painfully, when it’s hideously difficult, and one feels real despair (ah, the despair, silly as it is,...”
• “And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; th...”
• “Primarily, 'Black Girl/White Girl' is the story of two very different, yet somehow 'fated' girls; for Genna, her 'friend...”
• “I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card...”
• “I should say, one of the things about being a widow or a widower, you really, really need a sense of humor, because ever...”
• “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, anoth...”
• “The worst thing: to give yourself away in exchange for not enough love.”
• “Keep a light, hopeful heart. But ­expect the worst.”
• “A daydreamer is prepared for most things.”