I don't really think the outburst is recent; there have always been writers in Appalachia. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I'm probably the least cerebral guy you're ever going to meet as a writer. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I listen to a lot of different stuff, from Mozart to Johnny Dowd to Monster Magnet. I don't listen to music while… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I look upon [writing about religion] as a nice way to get by in this precarious world, though I've never been able… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I would try to write my own story about some East Coast suburbanite having an affair or something like that. So I… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I am very indebted to southern writers and not just Flannery O'Connor. Also Harry Crews, Larry Brown, Tennessee Williams, Barry Hannah and… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I would like to write a book that wasn't so violent and weird, but I just don't think I can do that… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
Michael Koryta is an amazingly talented writer, and I rank The Prophet as one of the sharpest and superbly plotted crime novels… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
As for how I feel about any success I've had, I just feel extremely lucky. Writing is a tough racket, and there… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
J.R. Angelella is a truly gifted writer. Zombie is one of the smartest, strangest, and most beautifully crafted coming-of-age stories you will… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
It depends on what your dream might be, as to whether or not it's still possible when you're, say, fifty or sixty.… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I really have no idea where the darkness comes from. Other writers have said that there are two subjects worth writing about,… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I do think they [French] view my writing itself as exotic - though that's probably not the best term for it -… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I had this bad habit of not writing out a first draft and going back. For me it was the first sentence,… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I do believe the world is a pretty sad, troubled, and violent place. Maybe that's why I focus on the trouble. Even… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I'm trying to break myself of that habit [of not writing out a first draft ] because I'm working on a couple… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
Probably because I personally knew at least six or seven people in Ross County who died from overdoses in the last three… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
There are a lot of writers from the South who would probably have once figured they needed to go to New York… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I didn't feel that so much as an outsider when I started writing; I've felt that way all my life. I don't… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
Id always been a big reader, and I loved books, and I always thought writing would be a great way to get… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
One of the reasons I write about religion is due to my own envy of people who truly feel the presence of… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
When I first started out, I was trying to write stories about nurses and lawyers and a lot of people I didn't… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
I'm not sure I would have ever decided to try to write when I was forty-five if I hadn't already gotten that… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
The biggest influence on my writing, besides snagging some ideas about black humor, was that the paper mill had a program where… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
You're always hoping you can attract a bigger audience, but at the same time, I'd hate to give up what I write.… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share Image
“Strangers complained about the stench, but the locals liked to brag that it was the sweet smell of money.” — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
I don't really think the outburst is recent; there have always been writers in Appalachia. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
Unless he had whiskey running through his veins, Willard came to the clearing every morning and evening to talk to God. Arvin didn't know… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
For example, if it's a sad scene, I need to feel that way, at least to a slight degree and for a short while,… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
As for how I feel about any success I've had, I just feel extremely lucky. Writing is a tough racket, and there are a… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
Part of the reason might be that I was born in 1954 and I look upon my youth with great fondness, like many old… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
I've never heard of that anthology [Vance Randolph, Pissing in the Snow], but you can be sure I'll buy it now. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
When I first started out, I was trying to write stories about nurses and lawyers and a lot of people I didn't know anything… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
“It's hard to live a good life...It seems like the Devil don't ever let up.” — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
I'm not sure what the proper label might be, or the most accurate one, but someone once called my stuff Southern Ohio Gothic and… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
Don't get me wrong: I think that everyone should put forth an effort to do better, but let's face it, some of us are… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
I look upon [writing about religion] as a nice way to get by in this precarious world, though I've never been able to do… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
[Degree in English] gave me a little more self-confidence, to know that I'd managed to complete something like that. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
When I was growing up, I always wanted to be somebody else and live somewhere else. I've always felt a little uncomfortable around people. — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
There are a lot of writers from the South who would probably have once figured they needed to go to New York to make… — Donald Ray Pollock Copy Share
![“I look upon [writing about religion] as a nice way to get by in this precarious world, though I've never been able to do it myself.” quote by Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/1a5/donald-ray-pollock-7796_able_i-look-upon-writing-about-religion-as-a_316097.png)
![“I do think they [French] view my writing itself as exotic - though that's probably not the best term for it - to a small extent, mainly because I say things that most French writers would probably hesitate to say for fear of offending someone or upsetting public sensibilities. I don't think that…” quote by Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/aee/donald-ray-pollock-7796_answers_i-do-think-they-french-view-my-writing-i_1761221.jpg)
![“I'm trying to break myself of that habit [of not writing out a first draft ] because I'm working on a couple novels and I know if I tried to write those books the way I wrote the stories it would take me years to finish.” quote by Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/ba5/donald-ray-pollock-7796_book_i-m-trying-to-break-myself-of-that-habit_3077738.png)
![“I'm not sure I would have ever decided to try to write when I was forty-five if I hadn't already gotten that degree [in English].” quote by Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3dd/donald-ray-pollock-7796_decided_i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-decided-t_2244427.jpg)
![“The biggest influence on my writing, besides snagging some ideas about black humor, was that the paper mill had a program where they paid 75 percent of the tuition and book [costs] for employees who wanted to go to college part-time.” quote by Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/8f9/donald-ray-pollock-7796_black_the-biggest-influence-on-my-writing-besi_1557735.jpg)
