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
A typical biography relying upon individuals' notorious memories and the anecdotes they've invented contains a high degree of fiction, yet is considered 'nonfiction.'
Interpretation
Biographies often mix fact and fiction based on personal memories and narratives.
This quote by Joyce Carol Oates highlights the paradox within biography writing, wherein many narratives labeled as 'nonfiction' may contain significant embellishments or inaccuracies derived from personal recollections. It suggests that the subjective nature of memories can lead to a blending of truth and fiction, raising questions about the reliability of such accounts and their classification as factual literature.
In practice
Discussing how personal biases influence our understanding of historical figures.
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.
I 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.
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.
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.
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
. . . 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.
Some racists still reject the plain testimony written in the DNA that all the races are not only human but nearly indistinguishable. . . .
As for me, I would rather be a worm in a wild apple than a son of man. But we are what we are, and we might remember not to hate any person, for all are vicious; And not to be astonished at any evil, all are deserved; And not to fear death; it is the only way to be cleansed.
What I believe in my heart must make sense in my mind.
The human heart is like a ship on a stormy sea driven about by winds blowing from all four corners of heaven.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
War is the province of danger.
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