I write fiction and I'm told it's autobiography, I write autobiography and I'm told it's fiction, so since I'm so dim and they're so smart, let them decide what it is or it isn't. Philip Roth autobiographydecidedim Change image and share on social
I needed my life as a springboard for my fiction. I have to have something solid under my feet when I write. I'm not a fantasist. I bounce up and down on the diving board, and I go into the water of fiction. But I've got to begin in life so I can pump life into it throughout. Philip Roth beginboardbounce share on social
When you publish a book, it's the world's book. The world edits it. Philip Roth bookeditpublish Change image and share on social
As for the kind of writer I am? I am who I don't pretend to be. Philip Roth kindpretendwriter Change image and share on social
I'm an Obama supporter. And if you're an Obama supporter, that means you had a hard time during the Bush years. Philip Roth bushhardmean Change image and share on social
As I see it, my focus has never been on masculine power rampant and triumphant but rather on the antithesis: masculine power impaired. Philip Roth antithesisfocusimpair Change image and share on social
Writing, for me, was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my life. Philip Roth diefeatlife Change image and share on social
The novelist's obsession, moment by moment, is with language: finding the right next word. Philip Roth findlanguagemoment Change image and share on social
Fluency can be a sign that nothing is happening; fluency can actually be my signal to stop, while being in the dark from sentence to sentence is what convinces me to go on. Philip Roth convincedarkfluency Change image and share on social
Routinely, when I finish a book, I think 'What will I do? Where will I get an idea?' And a kind of low-level panic sets in. Philip Roth bookfinishidea Change image and share on social
