At the beginning of every semester, I ask my graduate students whether there is something I should read that will help me understand their work. Alice McDermott begingraduateread 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
You're a human being, and every time a list of prize nominations comes out and your name isn't on it, you do have that thumb-in-the-eye feeling. Alice McDermott eyefelthuman Change image and share on social
I believed in fictional characters as if they were a part of real life. Poetry was important, too. My parents had memorized poems from their days attending school in New York City and loved reciting them. We all enjoyed listening to these poems and to music as well. Alice McDermott attendbelievecharacter share on social
A tendency to make metaphorical connections is an occupational hazard for those of us who write. Alice McDermott connectionhazardmake Change image and share on social
I'm interested in characters who should know better, who know they should give up, move on, accept life as it is, with all its constraints - life, death, time - but don't. Alice McDermott acceptcharacterconstraint Change image and share on social
Our task as fiction writers isn't just to report something that didn't really happen. We have to give what we write a sense of reality. The tool of our tradition is language. Alice McDermott fictiongivehappen Change image and share on social
Much of my experience with language was formed in the church, which has an oral tradition. There are lots of repetitions in prayers and song refrains. There's a sense of incantation, that if you call not once and not twice but for a third time, the spirit appears. Alice McDermott appearcallchurch 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
I've got to hear the rhythm of the sentences; I want the music of the prose. I want to see ordinary things transformed not by the circumstances in which I see them but by the language with which they're described. That's what I love when I read. Alice McDermott circumstancehavehear share on social
