Joyce Carol Oates Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“Boxing is a celebration of the lost religion of masculinity all the more trenchant for its being lost.”

“Boxing is about being hit rather more than it is about hitting, just as it is about feeling pain, if not devastating psychological paralysis, more than it is about winning.”

“My reputation for writing quickly and effortlessly notwithstanding, I am strongly in favor of intelligent, even fastidious revision, which is, or certainly should be, an art in itself.”

“In love there are two things - bodies and words.”

“Anyone who teaches knows that you don't really experience a text until you've taught it, in loving detail, with an intelligent and responsive class.”

“Night comes to the desert all at once, as if someone turned off the light.”

“I should say, one of the things about being a widow or a widower, you really, really need a sense of humor, because everything's going to fall apart.”

“The cleaning is something I use as a reward if I get some work done. I go into a very happy state of mind when I'm vacuuming.”

“Homo sapiens is the species that invents symbols in which to invest passion and authority, then forgets that symbols are inventions.”

“All that matters in life is forging deep ties of love and family and friends. Writing and reading come later.”