Most of us dont live lives that lend themselves to novelistic expression, because our lives are so fragmented.
Tobias WolffBecause I don't have to be careful of people's feelings when I teach literature, and I do when I'm teaching writing.
Tobias WolffI was giving up--being realistic, as people liked to say, meaning the same thing. Being realistic made me feel bitter.
Tobias WolffI try to help people become the best possible editors of their own work, to help them become conscious of the things they do well, of the things they need to look at again, of the wells of material they have not even begun to dip their buckets into.
Tobias WolffWhen we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests, and that falling and dying are for quitters. We live on the innocent and monstrous assurance that we alone, of all the people ever born, have a special arrangement whereby we will be allowed to stay green forever
Tobias Wolff