I'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 OatesThe domestic lives we live - which may be accidental, or not entirely of our making - help to make possible our writing lives; our imaginations are freed, or stimulated, by the very prospect of companionship, quiet, a predictable and consoling routine.
Joyce Carol OatesAmong many of my friends and acquaintances, I seem to be one of the very few individuals who felt or feels no ambivalence about my mother. All my feelings for my mother were positive, very strong and abiding.
Joyce Carol Oates