Character Quote by Donald Ray Pollock

“Strangers complained about the stench, but the locals liked to brag that it was the sweet smell of money.”

— Donald Ray Pollock

I don't really think the outburst is recent; there have always been writers in Appalachia.

— Donald Ray Pollock

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It's hard to live a good life...It seems like the Devil don't ever let up.”

— Donald Ray Pollock

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

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

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