The domestic lives we live – which may be accidental, or not entirely of our making – help to make possible our writing lives; our imaginations are freed, or stimulated, by the very prospect of companionship, quiet, a predictable and consoling routine. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
My writing is often a way of ‘bearing witness’ for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won’t be affected too much by my personal life. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I don’t read for amusement, I read for enlightenment. I do a lot of reviewing, so I have a steady assignment of reading. I’m also a judge for the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which gives awards to literature and nonfiction. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
It’s not hard to write poorly. But to write something good, it has to be revised. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I think whenever we think of our hometowns, we tend to think of very specific people: with whom you rode on the school bus, who was your next door neighbor you were playing with, who your girlfriend was. It’s always something very specific. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I think it’s very important for writers and artists generally to be witnesses to the world, and to be transparent. To let other people speak… to travel… to experience the world. And memorialize it. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I’ve always been interested in writing about people, including young children who are not able to speak for themselves. As in my novel ‘Black Water,’ I provide a voice for someone who has died and can’t speak for herself. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I am what would be called a ‘mainstream feminist,’ not a radical feminist. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I don’t think I’m morbid by nature. Serious writers have always written about serious subjects. Lighthearted material doesn’t appeal to me, and I don’t read it. I think I’m a realist, with a realistic sensibility of history and the tragedy of history. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
I compose most of my tweets with care, as if they were aphorisms – they are not usually dashed-off. Sometimes I’m surprised by the high, poetic quality of Twitter – it lends itself to a surreal sort of self-expression. Joyce Carol Oates Read Quote
