For centuries poets, some poets, have tried to give a voice to the animals, and readers, some readers, have felt empathy and sorrow. If animals did have voices, and they could speak with the tongues of angels-at the very least with the tongues of angels-they would be unable to save themselves from us. What good would language do? Their mysterious otherness has not saved them, nor have their beautiful songs and coats and skins and shells and eyes.
Joy WilliamsA writer starts out, I think, wanting to be a transfiguring agent, and ends up usually just making contact, contact with other human beings. This, unsurprisingly, is not enough.
Joy WilliamsMany writers today are wanderers. There is not only an unhousedness in language - how to convey, to say nothing of converge - but an unhousedness of place.
Joy WilliamsI think I had the same notion most people have, which is itโs simply a town that percolates around country music. Though country-music history is deep and richly steeped throughout the city, this is a place thatโs been expanding musically and culturallyโฆPeople coming from Europe and Canada-there are all kinds of different cultures and different music being represented here. It continues to blossom.
Joy WilliamsWriters are like eremites or anchorites - natural-born eremites or anchorites - who seem puzzled as to why they went up the pole or into the cave in the first place.
Joy Williams