Most of the people I write about I'm still in touch with, so I would be loath to make up stuff about them. Mary Karr loathmakepeople Change image and share on social
I think being tortured as a virtue is a kind of antiquated sense of what it is to be an artist. It comes out of that Symbolist idea, back to Rimbaud and all that disordering of the senses and all of that being some exalted state. When I've been that way, I've always been less exalted than I would have liked. Mary Karr antiquateartistback share on social
Success has affected my self-definition in that I have more money. Writers pooh-pooh that idea, but it's a huge deal. Mary Karr affectdealdefinition Change image and share on social
Young writers often mistakenly choose a certain vein or style based on who they want to be, unconsciously trying to blot out who they actually are. You want to escape yourself. Mary Karr baseblotchoose Change image and share on social
It's completely through prayer that I came to believe in God. I just sensed a presence south of my neck. Mary Karr completelygodneck Change image and share on social
I think we fall in love and become adults and become citizens in a way by writing stories about ourselves. Mary Karr adultcitizenfall Change image and share on social
I don't think I look like the pope's favorite Catholic - at least not under close scrutiny. Mary Karr catholicclosefavorite Change image and share on social
Both my parents were agnostic. My mother was kind of a Buddhist. She had some spiritual tendencies, but they were kind of flaky - New Agey, you know? Which is partly why I'm suspicious of that sort of thing. I'm skeptical of any spiritual practice that doesn't involve other people and doesn't involve some sort of consistent tradition. Mary Karr ageyagnosticbuddhist share on social
Poetry is for me Eucharistic. You take someone else's suffering into your body, their passion comes into your body, and in doing that you commune, you take communion, you make a community with others. Mary Karr bodycommunecommunion Change image and share on social