#de

Criticism is, for me, like essay writing, a wonderful way of relaxation; it doesn't require a heightened and mediated voice, like prose fiction, but rather a calm, rational, even conversational voice. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#conversational #criticism #essay #even #fiction

Except that awards are competitive, which is a negative thing, they are wonderful for singling out deserving individuals and bringing their work to the attention of many potential readers who might otherwise have been totally unaware of them. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#awards #been #bringing #competitive #deserving

Honorary degrees and lifetime achievement awards are very encouraging. I know that it might sound strange that a writer who has published many books still needs encouragement, but this is true. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#awards #books #degrees #encouragement #encouraging

I consider tragedy the highest form of art. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#consider #form #highest #highest form #i

I could never take the idea of religion very seriously. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#i #idea #never #never take #religion

If a book I've committed myself to review turns out to be 'disappointing' I make an effort to present it objectively to the reader, including a good number of excerpts from the text, so that the reader might form his or her own opinion independent of my own. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#committed #disappointing #effort #form #good

Love is an indescribable sensation - perhaps a conviction, a sense of certitude. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#conviction #indescribable #love #love is #perhaps

You know, the people who do indie film and decide who gets those little budgets? They're mean, man. They're cold and very cool-oriented. ↗

— Louis C. K.

#cold #decide #film #gets #indie

To be Jewish is to be specifically identified with a history. And if you're not aware of that when you're a child, the whole tradition is lost. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#child #history #identified #jewish #lost

When I complete a novel I set it aside, and begin work on short stories, and eventually another long work. When I complete that novel I return to the earlier novel and rewrite much of it. In the meantime the second novel lies in a desk drawer. ↗

— Joyce Carol Oates

#aside #begin #complete #desk #drawer