...and it made me uncomfortable the way this guy was…

Why would I want to read something about somebody that's just a really nice, decent person who overcomes terrible trials? That's not how life…

— Tama Janowitz

“I don't like him...he makes me feel like he's going to throw me in a coffin and walk around on top of it.”

— Tama Janowitz

The older a woman gets, the more invisible you become.

— Tama Janowitz

Brownstein's is a fresh and jaunty voice, with a jazz snap all his own.

— Tama Janowitz

I felt my whole life was a facsimile of a life.

— Tama Janowitz

I was like a social worker for lepers. My clients had a chunk of their body they wanted to give away; for a price…

— Tama Janowitz

If you want to write about a person who isn't nice, people say, "This is a bad book. It's about somebody I couldn't stand."…

— Tama Janowitz

I think in a lot of ways, writing, when you're really in there, is like being an actress because you're in somebody else's head.

— Tama Janowitz

I think it's true about people now being closer to their parents, since the '60s, really. The parents are no longer from a different…

— Tama Janowitz

I'm writing what I want to write. But it's almost an act of rebellion on my part. Because as a person, I've always wanted…

— Tama Janowitz

Long after the bomb falls and you and your good deeds are gone, cockroaches will still be here, prowling the streets like armored cars.

— Tama Janowitz

“I had a hunger for things I knew realistically I didn't actually care for.”

— Tama Janowitz

Whether I'm critically well received, whether or not I sell books - of course it becomes progressively harder to get them published - nevertheless,…

— Tama Janowitz

Most of my life is just spent lying in bed. I mean, it's enough pressure to write the words. Do I need to use…

— Tama Janowitz

I think it's more difficult writing what it's like to be a child. You can pretend you know what it's like, but you don't…

— Tama Janowitz