The problem with a beautiful woman is that she makes everyone around her feel hopelessly masculine, which if youโre already male to begin with poses no particular problem. But if youโre anyone else, your whole sexual identity gets dragged into the principalโs office: โSo whatโs this I hear about you prancing around, masquerading as a woman?โ You are answerless. You are sitting on your hands. You are praying for your breasts to grow, your hair to perk up.
Lorrie MooreI wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The human voice no longer interested me.
Lorrie MooreNo matter what terror the earth could produce - winds, seas - a person could produce the same, lived with the same, lived with all that mixed-up nature swirling inside, every bit. There was nothing as complex in the world - no flower or stone - as a single hello from a human being.
Lorrie MooreWhat do I do when writing isn't going well? Well, I don't write - which is symptom, cure, and cause. And then sometimes I just tell myself, as I'm writing, "I'll fix it later." And sometimes it's true, I do.
Lorrie MooreEverything one reads is nourishment of some sort - good food or junk food - and one assumes it all goes in and has its way with your brain cells.
Lorrie MooreShe was not good on the phone. She needed the face, the pattern of eyes, nose, trembling mouth... People talking were meant to look at a face, the disastrous cupcake of it, the hide-and-seek of the heart dashing across. With a phone, you said words, but you never watched them go in. You saw them off at the airport but never knew whether there was anyone there to greet them when they got off the plane.
Lorrie Moore