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 artistexperiencegenerally share on social
Boxing is about being hit rather more than it is about hitting, just as it is about feeling pain, if not devastating psychological paralysis, more than it is about winning. Joyce Carol Oates boxdevastatefelt Change image and share on social
When you are writing literary writing, you are communicating something subtextual with emotions and poetry. The prose has to have a voice; it's not just typing. It takes a while to get that voice. Joyce Carol Oates communicateemotionliterary Change image and share on social
The great menace to the life of an industry is industrial self-complacency. Joyce Carol Oates complacencygreatindustrial Change image and share on social
If a book I've committed myself to review turns out to be 'disappointing' I make an effort to present it objectively to the reader, including a good number of excerpts from the text, so that the reader might form his or her own opinion independent of my own. Joyce Carol Oates bookcommitdisappoint share on social
In 'We Were the Mulvaneys,' animals are almost as important as people. I wanted to show the tenderness in our relationships with cats, dogs, and horses. Especially cats. Joyce Carol Oates animalcatdog Change image and share on social
A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction.' Joyce Carol Oates anecdotebiographyconsider Change image and share on social
Probably nothing serious or worthwhile can be accomplished without one's willingness to be alone for sustained periods of time, which is not to say that one must live alone, obsessively. Joyce Carol Oates accomplishliveobsessively Change image and share on social
People have libraries at home, they have bookshelves, they have CDs. And they sort of try, people try to bring great artists into their lives, into their physical houses and sort of live with portions of them. But they're not really deeply engaging with them. Joyce Carol Oates artistbookshelfbring share on social
I don't teach literature from my perspective as 'Joyce Carol Oates.' I try to teach fiction from the perspective of each writer. If I'm teaching a story by Hemingway, my endeavor is to present the story that Hemingway wrote in its fullest realization. Joyce Carol Oates carolendeavorfiction share on social
