I'm drawn to New England because that's where my roots are, and I miss it. I come from many generations of New Englanders, and so, in my writing, I've been drawn back there to the landscape and the light and the type of personality that's revealed. Elizabeth Strout backdrawengland share on social
I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. When someone else might think, 'I might do the dishes,' I don't. But then the dishes multiply. Elizabeth Strout dishfastlot Change image and share on social
My first job was when I was about 12, cleaning houses in the afternoons for different elderly women in town. I hated it. Elizabeth Strout afternooncleanelderly Change image and share on social
I don't ever really know where I get my characters from. Elizabeth Strout character Change image and share on social
I don't think there's anybody I write about who I don't care for deeply in some way, no matter what their behavior is. Elizabeth Strout behaviorcaredeeply Change image and share on social
I love theater. I love sitting in an audience and having the actors right there, playing out what it means to be a human being. Elizabeth Strout actoraudiencehuman Change image and share on social
I love the comfort of daily life's routines: things like being able to read a paper on the subway. It's no accident that my favourite word is 'quotidian.' Elizabeth Strout accidentcomfortdaily Change image and share on social
I love arranging the words and having them fall on the ear the right way, and you know you're not quite there, and you're redoing it and redoing it, and there's a wonderful thrill to it. But it is hard. It's a job of tremendous anxiety for me. Elizabeth Strout anxietyarrangeear share on social
I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them... whether that's in a classroom, or a soccer team, or a food pantry, or any of those things. I mean, we're kind of more alike than we are different. Elizabeth Strout alikeclassroomfood share on social
In the kind of New England I'm from, you are expected to stay and marry somebody from New England - well, Maine, actually - so I think it was seen as a betrayal when I left for New York, which has been my refuge. Elizabeth Strout betrayalenglandexpect share on social
