I was at the tail end of the family. The next brother along was already seven years older than me. I remember growing up by myself, playing games by myself. Ali Smith brotherendfamily Change image and share on social
A good argument, like a good dialogue, is always a proof of life, but I'd much rather go and read a book. Ali Smith argumentbookdialogue Change image and share on social
You never know if you're a writer. You can't trust it. If you woke up and said, 'I'm a writer,' it would be gone. You wouldn't see anything for miles - even the dust would be running away. Ali Smith dustmilerun Change image and share on social
All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels. Ali Smith alivebookfinal Change image and share on social
Words are like untying a corset - you can move into this great space with them. Ali Smith corsetgreatmove Change image and share on social
As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say the name Catherine Deneuve or Brigitte Bardot, or L.A. and the name Marilyn Monroe, it's like standing in Athens, or anywhere in wide-flung Greece, and saying Aliki Vougiouklaki. A huge star - and so little known elsewhere in the world. Ali Smith alikiathensbardot share on social
Nothing is harmful to literature except censorship, and that almost never stops literature going where it wants to go either, because literature has a way of surpassing everything that blocks it and growing stronger for the exercise. Ali Smith blockcensorshipexercise share on social
It's the word 'artful'; it's such a great word, with its dark and its light side, its art and its cunning, the craft and the crafty of it - I've been preoccupied with the word 'artful' and the twin notions of 'cornucopia' and 'pickpocket' it suggests for quite some time. Ali Smith artartfulcornucopia share on social
A game one of my sisters will play with me in my first year of being alive is called Good Baby, Bad Baby. This consists of being told I am a good baby until I smile and laugh, then being told I am a bad baby until I burst into tears. This training will stand me in good stead all through my life. Ali Smith alivebabybad share on social
My father is from Newark in Nottinghamshire and my mother is from the very north of Ireland. They've ended up in Scotland, where my father - well, both of them - will always be seen as having come from somewhere else. Ali Smith endfatherhave share on social