I'm a natural novelist. I'm interested in the person and the group, and how they mesh. And one of the ways I… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
Novelists of a conservative or more purely aesthetic bent hold up better on the surface, but their novels go in and out… — Jane Smiley Aesthetic Copy Share Image
I loved the house the way you would any new house, because it is populated by your future, the family of children… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
There weren't too many books by women that were taught in school, so I read those on my own, and the books… — Jane Smiley Book Copy Share Image
A novelist has two lives-- a reading and writing life, and a lived life. he or she cannot be understood at all… — Jane Smiley Life Copy Share Image
Art doesn't exist if you just do what you're told. It only exists as an exercise of individual taste and freedom. — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
I learned why 'out riding alone' is an oxymoron: An equestrian is never alone, is always sensing the other being, the mysterious… — Jane Smiley Alone Copy Share Image
Some people do wait their whole lives for something, and it's only when that thing arrives that they find out that they've… — Jane Smiley Aging Copy Share Image
Sometimes, a novel is like a train: the first chapter is a comfortable seat in an attractive carriage, and the narrative speeds… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
You cannot be an egomaniac on the horse. If you lose your temper and start beating him, either you will destroy him,… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
“We watched the swimmers and sunbathers and I thought about this. Had I faced all the facts? It seemed like I had,… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
'Ape House' is an ambitious novel in several ways, for which it is to be admired, and it is certainly an easy… — Jane Smiley Ambitious Copy Share Image
With any novel that you begin, you can't foresee how difficult or easy it's going to be, and you can't really prepare… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
I wrote the Dickens book because I loved Dickens, not because I felt a kinship with him, but after writing the book… — Jane Smiley Book Copy Share Image
In December 1998, I considered myself an expert on love. I was almost a year into a relationship, one that had grown… — Jane Smiley December Copy Share Image
“Everyone starved. Starvation is a potent weapon, and the Bolsheviks are happy to wield it. The cheapest way to get rid of… — Jane Smiley Dictatorship Copy Share Image
I love to write about sex. You just have to make it idiosyncratic. You have to have a strong comprehension of your… — Jane Smiley Character Copy Share Image
There are five things that societies do: They reproduce; they produce food; they organize themselves in terms of law; they organize themselves… — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
A child who is protected from all controversial ideas is as vulnerable as a child who is protected from every germ. The… — Jane Smiley Belief Copy Share Image
Somehow, knowing that Alzheimer's is coming mocks all one's aspirations - to tell stories, to think through certain issues as only a… — Jane Smiley Accomplishment Copy Share Image
Many said that now there was no hope of salvation, for a man might do anything and be in the wrong. There… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
When I went to first grade and the other children said that their fathers were farmers, I simply didn't believe them. I… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
With horses, familiarity breeds comfort. If you haven't been around horses for a while (or ever), the best thing to do is… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
“But now I saw with fresh conviction that is was us, all of us, who were failing, and the hallmark of our… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
When I came home for the summer after my first year of college, I told my mother that my best friend and… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
