My mother's family didn't speak much about Europe: My mother was born in 1935, and her new-world parents were the sort who didn't want to worry their children about the war. Elizabeth McCracken bearchildeurope Change image and share on social
It's an amazing thing to watch a lizard fold a moth into its mouth, like a sword swallower who specialises in umbrellas. Elizabeth McCracken amazefoldlizard Change image and share on social
A comic strip that your parents read when they were young is a curious thing: it's an heirloom, and it's also intimate. You peer through windows and look at the things that made your elders laugh, and then you wonder whether the laugh really belongs to you. Elizabeth McCracken belongcomiccurious share on social
I like seeing my physical progress through a volume, particularly if it's a big book. Elizabeth McCracken bigbookphysical Change image and share on social
Tweeting about objects means I don't need to bid on them, which is a blessing. Buying something is a way of saying, 'Look at this!' So is tweeting. So, I guess, is writing fiction. Elizabeth McCracken bidblessbuy Change image and share on social
New Orleans is still the place where you find out that you have a doppelganger and feel lucky - but somehow unsurprised - to learn that his name is Mad Bottom. Elizabeth McCracken bottomdoppelgangerfeel Change image and share on social
Remember that a woman who has given birth to a dead child has given birth and is recovering physically, too. Don't be afraid of grieving parents. Elizabeth McCracken afraidbirthchild Change image and share on social
In 'Property,' none of the characters are based on any real people, but the house is very much the house that I moved into in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Elizabeth McCracken basecharacterhouse Change image and share on social
I can't imagine not joking even at the worst of times. And for me, it's sort of automatic. Elizabeth McCracken automaticbadimagine Change image and share on social
When I first met my husband, he was sculpting Vilnius out of clay - a sort of Vilnius, anyhow: a map of an imaginary European city based on the Lithuanian capital - to illustrate his second novel. Elizabeth McCracken basecapitalcity Change image and share on social
