Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Productivity is a relative matter. And it's really insignificant: What is ultimately important is a writer's strongest books.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Productivity should be measured by the quality of work rather than the quantity of output.
In this quote, Joyce Carol Oates emphasizes that the measure of a writer's success is not found in the sheer number of works produced, but rather in the impact and strength of their best books. This perspective invites writers to focus on crafting meaningful and resonant pieces rather than being trapped in the hustle of constant output, suggesting that great literature stands the test of time regardless of how often it is created.
Themes
ProductivityQualityWritingBooksImpact
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire a writing workshop to focus on refining drafts rather than just finishing pieces.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes βI never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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Don't try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won't live long enough to find out about, but I'm still curious about them. You know people who are already saying, 'I'm going to be 30 - oh, what am I going to do?' Well, use that decade! Use them all!
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In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.
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Let us be absolutely clear about one thing: we must not confuse humility with false modesty or servility.
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Nine times of ten an army has been destroyed because its supply lines have been severed
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When I left the house of bondage I left everything behind. I wasn't going to keep nothing of Egypt on me, an' so I went to the Lord an' asked him to give me a new name. And he gave me Sojourner because I was to travel up and down the land showing the people their sins and bein' a sign unto them. I told the Lord I wanted two names 'cause everybody else had two, and the Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people.
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If each day falls _x000D_ inside each night, _x000D_ there exists a well _x000D_ where clarity is imprisoned. _x000D_ _x000D_ We need to sit on the rim _x000D_ of the well of darkness _x000D_ and fish for fallen light _x000D_ with patience.
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