I did not consider that I would lead a literary life. I'd thought initially, as a young girl, that I would be a teacher, since I so admired many of my teachers. And though I loved writing, I did not ever think of myself as a writer.
Joyce Carol OatesMy grandmother could never have written a memoir, so 'The Gravedigger's Daughter' is a homage to her life, and to the lives of other young women of her generation, which are so rarely articulated.
Joyce Carol OatesI've never given up. I've always kept going. I don't feel that I could afford to give up. That would be the beginning of the end.
Joyce Carol Oates