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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