Her wish to die was as pervasive as a dial tone: you lift the receiver, it's always there.
Joyce Carol OatesThe written word, obviously, is very inward, and when we're reading, we're thinking. It's a sort of spiritual, meditative activity. When we're looking at visual objects, I think our eyes are obviously directed outward, so there's not as much reflective time. And it's the reflectiveness and the spiritual inwardness about reading that appeals to me.
Joyce Carol OatesAn actress wants to be seen. An actress wants to be loved. By multitudes of people, not just one lone man.
Joyce Carol OatesChildhood is the province of the imagination and when I immerse myself in it, I re-create it as it was, as it could have been, as I wanted - and didn't want - it to be.
Joyce Carol Oates