Home / Quotes / Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

“My life is a very interior and solitary life. I tend not to care that much about external things.”

Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

Author

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is a renowned American author born on June 16, 1938. Her works span various literary forms such as novels, poetry, and drama, known for her unique narrative techniques and profound thematic explorations. more

You May Also Like

“Ultimately, we measure ourselves against our own ideas of idealism and perfection, and we don't always come very close to them.”

Ideas Perfection Idealism

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“In a sense, I may not consciously know what I'm doing. I feel that I'm telling a story. I'm a kind of medium by which something is transmitted.”

Knows Feels Kind May Stories Mediums

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“America is a very religious nation. Not a mono-religious nation because there are many different strands of belief, but there's something about this nation that inspires people, or perhaps draws people, who are strongly idealistic.”

People Different America Belief Nations Religious Inspire Draws Strands Idealistic Mono

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“The American dream is a multi-metaphor made up of distinct regions. Many regions of this country are almost like different countries. Even in one state, northern and southern California are like two separate countries.”

Made Two Different Country States Dream Metaphor California Regions Southern American Dream Different Countries Southern California

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I'm very American in the sense of being an explorer. America is filled with people who are interested in exploring landscapes, either external or internal. A westward nation of explorers.”

People America Nations Filled Landscape Internals Exploring Explorers

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I always tell my students the same thing. And that's to live life, and to read very voraciously without any definite program. To travel, to meet people, to talk to people, to listen very carefully, and not interrupt, but listen to their own grandparents speak of their families.”

People Speak Students Program Live Life Definite Grandparent

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“Look at the world and see what's there. It's very beautiful. It's a very exciting but in some ways treacherous world, and all this goes into the writing.”

World Way Writing Looks Beautiful Exciting Very Beautiful Treacherous

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“The things I really cared about - poverty, the Great Society, civil rights - were all being drained away by the Vietnam War. The line that keeps running through my mind is the line I never spoke: "I can't speak for a war that I believe is immoral."”

Mind Believe I Can War Running Speak I Believe Lines Poverty Rights Civil Rights Spokes Vietnam Immoral Vietnam War Drained Keep Running Great Society

Author:Bill Moyers

“It's very difficult to measure the impact on policy of any investigative journalism. You hope it matters to let a little more truth loose in the world, but you can't always be sure it does. You do it because there's a story to be told. I can tell you that the job of trying to tell the truth about people whose job it is to hide the truth is about as complicated and difficult as trying to hide it in the first place.”

People World Trying Firsts Littles Doe I Can Matter Stories Jobs Difficult Policy Truth Is Impact Complicated Journalism Telling The Truth Investigative Journalism

Author:Bill Moyers

“Think about all that we've lost that has been said orally because nobody was taking it down. I feel very fortunate to live in a time where we have so many different voices. We have a much richer literature than we've ever had, and we can know America so much better.”

Thinking Knows Feels Has Beens Said Different America Literature Lost Voice Fortunate Different Voices

Author:Tillie Olsen