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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the author's role in expressing the untold stories of those without a platform, prioritizing their voices over personal influences.
Joyce Carol Oates expresses her commitment to writing as a means to represent and advocate for those who are marginalized and unable to share their experiences. She hopes that her personal life does not overshadow the voices she aims to convey in her writing, highlighting the importance of education and opportunity in storytelling. This reflects her belief in the responsibility of writers to bear witness to the struggles and narratives of others.
Themes
WritingWitnessStorytellingEducationAdvocacyOpportunity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of education, this quote can highlight the need for representation.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →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.
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
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
When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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