No one looks at a baby and says, 'You are going to be a great novelist, and you really need to start writing now.' Something in us says: 'This is what I must do.' Alice McDermott babygreatnovelist Change image and share on social
In grammar school I read 'Act One' by Moss Hart, and being a playwright struck me as the most magical and romantic career anyone could have... But I never did write a play. Alice McDermott actcareergrammar Change image and share on social
I'm not usually drawn to memoir - many run the risk of self-aggrandizement or score-settling. Alice McDermott aggrandizementdrawmemoir Change image and share on social
I've always believed you go to literature to find the shared human experience, not the categorized human experience. Alice McDermott believecategorizeexperience Change image and share on social
Publishing a short story can sometimes feel like shouting into the dark... your words come out, and then nothing... but I don't think that's why I tend to write novels rather than stories. Alice McDermott darkfeelnovel Change image and share on social
For immigrant generations especially, family is the first structure, or shelter, for a people who are in exile. Alice McDermott exilefamilygeneration Change image and share on social
My own 'sentimental favorite' is always the novel I haven't yet written - I suppose that's the one I consider my 'masterpiece' as well. Alice McDermott favoritemasterpiecesentimental Change image and share on social
The thing that fiction can do is look from the inside out rather than from the outside in. Even memoir leaves me somewhat frustrated. I think now we need a poet to uncover what isn't on the surface. Alice McDermott fictionfrustrateinside Change image and share on social
I think place and time for me is often a matter of convenience, something I can use to another end rather than something I'm trying to define because it's somehow fascinating to me in itself. It's more what the place can do for the larger goals I have for the work. Alice McDermott conveniencedefineend share on social