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Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

“My students often say, "My roommate read this story and really liked it", and it's hard to convince them that there are things wrong with it. I say, "well, people who love you want you to be happy. But I'm your professor and I'm supposed to be teaching you something."”

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

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“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.”

Way Writing Stories Opportunity Too Much Witness Affected Personal Life Bearing Witness

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.”

Should Character Stories Novel Shapes Should Have Evolve Aesthetic Coherence

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“Often in gothic novels there's a large house, an estate, and it's symbolic of that culture. Usually it's sort of moldering or rotted or something, and sometimes it's a whole community.”

Sometimes Whole Culture House Community Novel Estates Gothic Symbolic

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“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.”

People Trying Home Artist House Library Portions Engaging Cds Great Artist Bookshelves

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“People who are disenfranchised politically and people who are poor often don't vote. They often don't elect politicians, so the politicians who are supporting them are really being very charitable, because they're not going to give them billions of dollars in campaign funds.”

People Giving Poor Politician Vote Dollars Billions Campaigns Fund Charitable Disenfranchised

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“Primarily, 'Black Girl/White Girl' is the story of two very different, yet somehow 'fated' girls; for Genna, her 'friendship' with Minette is the most haunting of her life, though it is one-sided and ends in tragedy.”

Two Different Ends Stories Girl Black White Tragedy Haunting One Sided Black Girl White Girl

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“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.”

Serious Periods Accomplished Willingness Worthwhile

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“Productivity is a relative matter. And it's really insignificant: What is ultimately important is a writer's strongest books. It may be the case that we all must write many books in order to achieve a few lasting ones - just as a young writer or poet might have to write hundreds of poems before writing his first significant one.”

Writing Firsts May Important Book Matter Might Young Order Cases Achieve Poet Productivity Significant Lasting Strongest Relative Insignificant Young Writers

Book:Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

Source: Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

“Sometimes I read reviews, and without exception I will read critical essays that are sent to me. The critical essays are interesting on their own terms.”

Sometimes Term Interesting Critical Exception Reviews Essays

Book:Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

Source: Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

“'The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not only of poor and immigrant workers but of their young children in factories and mills - and as the consequence of race hatred in the aftermath of the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves.”