I am proudest of that first novel, 'Trust,' of anything I have written. I don't think I've had such intense energy since. Cynthia Ozick energyhaveintense Change image and share on social
I never conceived of not writing a novel. I believed - oh, God, I believed, it was an article of faith! - I was born to write a novel. Cynthia Ozick articlebearbelieve Change image and share on social
I read in order to write. I read out of obsession with writing. Cynthia Ozick obsessionorderread Change image and share on social
Literature is for the sake of humanity. Cynthia Ozick humanityliteraturesake Change image and share on social
An essay is a thing of the imagination. If there is information in an essay, it is by-the-by, and if there is an opinion, one need not trust it for the long run. A genuine essay rarely has an educational, polemical, or sociopolitical use; it is the movement of a free mind at play. Cynthia Ozick educationalessayfree share on social
Sometimes writing has to be forced. In starting out, the shape and timbre and texture of what is to come is an uncertain chimera shimmering from behind a veil. You must not wait, loiter, dilly-dally. You must force your way painfully through. Cynthia Ozick chimeradallydilly share on social
I wanted to use what I was, to be what I was born to be - not to have a 'career', but to be that straightforward obvious unmistakable animal, a writer. Cynthia Ozick animalbearcareer Change image and share on social
All writing is presumption, of course, since no one knows what it is like to be another human being. Cynthia Ozick humanpresumptionwrite Change image and share on social
Hebrew as a contemporary language, especially for poetry, is no longer the language of the Bible; but neither is it not the language of the Bible. Cynthia Ozick biblecontemporaryhebrew Change image and share on social
I don't like to read contemporary fiction while writing - I need a sense of isolation, a kind of silence, and I don't want a jumble of other people's voices or visions getting in my way. Nineteenth-century voices don't create static in that silence. Cynthia Ozick centurycontemporarycreate share on social