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Quote by Joyce Carol Oates

“I am not conscious of working especially hard, or of 'working' at all. Writing and teaching have always been, for me, so richly rewarding that I don't think of them as work in the usual sense of the word.”

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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“I compose most of my tweets with care, as if they were aphorisms - they are not usually dashed-off. Sometimes I'm surprised by the high, poetic quality of Twitter - it lends itself to a surreal sort of self-expression.”

Ifs Self Sometimes Care Quality Expression Poetic Aphorism Surreal Tweet Self Expression

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I don't feel I write fast. I write in longhand and do so much revision. On the page, it's so old-fashioned. I could write a whole novel on scrap paper, scribbles and things. I keep looking at it and something develops. For me, using a word processor would mean staring at a screen for too many hours.”

Feels Writing Mean Whole Hours Novel Paper Pages Screens Staring Old Fashioned Scrap Revision Scribbles Processors

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I don't know what marriages are like in general, but there are many things which I don't talk about with my husband. We discuss practical problems, but I wouldn't sit down with him and talk about the distant past. It's somewhat in contrast to other Americans, who feel that they have to confess things, but I'm really not like that.”

Knows Feels Problem Past Husband Practicals My Husband Contrast

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I don't read for amusement, I read for enlightenment. I do a lot of reviewing, so I have a steady assignment of reading. I'm also a judge for the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which gives awards to literature and nonfiction.”

Giving Book Reading Literature Judging Enlightenment Awards Steady Nonfiction Amusement Assignments

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“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.”

Ifs Trying Stories Literature Fiction Teach Teaching Perspective Realization Endeavor Carols Joyce

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I don't think I'm morbid by nature. Serious writers have always written about serious subjects. Lighthearted material doesn't appeal to me, and I don't read it. I think I'm a realist, with a realistic sensibility of history and the tragedy of history.”

Thinking Written Subjects Serious Materials Tragedy Appeals Realistic Sensibility Realist Morbid Serious Subjects

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I haven't any formal schedule, but I love to write in the morning, before breakfast. Sometimes the writing goes so smoothly that I don't take a break for many hours - and consequently have breakfast at two or three in the afternoon on good days.”

Writing Two Sometimes Three Hours Break Morning Havens Breakfast Afternoon Formal Schedules Good Day

Book:Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

Source: Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates

“I haven't the faintest idea what my royalties are. I haven't the faintest idea how many copies of books sold, or how many books that I've written. I could look these things up; I have no interest in them. I don't know how much money I have. There are a lot of things I just don't care about.”

Knows Looks Book Ideas Care Interest Know How Written Havens Don't Care Copies Royalty

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.”

Writing Age Wanted Young Conscious Ideals Twenties Young Age

Author:Joyce Carol Oates

“I remember once asking Grandma about a book she was reading, a biography of Abraham Lincoln, and how she answered me: this was the first conversation of my life that concerned a book, and 'the life of the mind' - and now, such subjects have become my life.”

Mind Firsts Book Remember Reading Subjects Conversation Concerned Asking Biographies Grandma Abraham

Author:Joyce Carol Oates