I'm not usually drawn to memoir - many run the risk of self-aggrandizement or score-settling. Download Download Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Rotate quotes aggrandizement draw memoir
A perfect poem you can't pin down and say, 'This is exactly what it meant to me.' It's not a self-help manual. Alice McDermott manualmeanperfect Change image and share on social
Loss is inevitable - you have to be blind or naive to think otherwise. Alice McDermott blindinevitableloss Change image and share on social
I read a little bit of nonfiction and a lot of poetry. I think of poetry as my shot of whiskey when I don't have time to savor a whole bottle of wine. Alice McDermott bitebottlelot Change image and share on social
I had read too many memoirs that were written after the writer or the director was past his or her prime. Joe Eszterhas directormemoirpast Change image and share on social
There are clearly many good politicians who are guided by religious belief, so the mix can work. But there's a line to be drawn. It would be hugely dangerous for a country's laws to be set by the scriptures, and particularly those of the expansionist religions. Zac Goldsmith beliefcountrydangerous share on social
As readers, we sense when the game is being played for real and when something else is afoot: pride, showmanship, the pursuit of power, self-aggrandizement, revenge, making money. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but I dislike closing a book with the sense that I've been had. Stacey D'Erasmo afootaggrandizementbook share on social