We are stimulated to emotional response, not by works that confirm our sense of the world, but by works that challenge it.
Joyce Carol OatesBoxing is a celebration of the lost religion of masculinity all the more trenchant for its being lost.
Joyce Carol OatesHonorary 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 OatesThe other book that I worry no one reads anymore is James Joyce's Ulysses. It's not easy, but every page is wonderful and repays the effort. I started reading it in high school, but I wasn't really able to grasp it. Then I read it in college. I once spent six weeks in a graduate seminar reading it. It takes that long. That's the problem. No one reads that way anymore. People may spend a week with a book, but not six.
Joyce Carol Oates