America is full of readers of all different sorts who love books in many different ways, and I keep meeting them. And I think editors should look after them, and make less effort to please people who don't actually like books. A. S. Byatt americabookeditor share on social
I don't only write about English literature; I also write about chaos theory and... ants. I can understand ants. A. S. Byatt antchaosenglish Change image and share on social
I think literary theory has not been terribly good for English studies in a while. It's not that theory isn't interesting, but it isn't about books, or the idiosyncrasies and complexities of putting language together. A. S. Byatt bookcomplexityenglish share on social
My professional and human obsession is the nature of language, and my best relationships are with other writers. In many ways, I know George Eliot better than I know my husband. A. S. Byatt eliotgeorgehuman Change image and share on social
The true exercise of freedom is - cannily and wisely and with grace - to move inside what space confines - and not seek to know what lies beyond and cannot be touched or tasted. A. S. Byatt cannilyconfineexercise Change image and share on social
I think vestigially there's a synesthete in me, but not like a real one who immediately knows what colour Wednesday is. A. S. Byatt colourimmediatelyreal Change image and share on social
I don't understand why, in my work, writing is always so dangerous. It's very destructive. People who write books are destroyers. A. S. Byatt bookdangerousdestroyer Change image and share on social
I think there are a lot more important things than art in the world. But not to me. A. S. Byatt artimportantlot Change image and share on social
In our world of sleek flesh and collagen, Botox and liposuction, what we most fear is the dissolution of the body-mind, the death of the brain. A. S. Byatt bodybotoxbrain Change image and share on social
Reading a newspaper is like reading someone's letters, as opposed to a biography or a history. The writer really does not know what will happen. A novelist needs to feel what that is like. A. S. Byatt biographyfeelhappen Change image and share on social
