If to live is to progress, if you are lucky, from foolishness to wisdom, then to write novels is to broadcast the various stages of your foolishness. Jane Smiley broadcastfoolishnesslive Change image and share on social
With any novel that you begin, you can't foresee how difficult or easy it's going to be, and you can't really prepare yourself. You just have a take it one step at a time and know that it's all right to keep going - you can always fix it. Jane Smiley begindifficulteasy share on social
People are quite frequently eccentric. Jane Smiley eccentricfrequentlypeople Change image and share on social
Another thing I learned is that novels, even those from apparently distant times and places, remain current and enlightening, and also comforting. Jane Smiley apparentlycomfortcurrent Change image and share on social
I thought I might write mysteries for the rest of my life. Jane Smiley lifemysteryrest Change image and share on social
'The Good Soldier' is an odd and maybe even unique book. That it is a masterpiece, almost a perfect novel, comes as a repeated surprise even to readers who have read it before. Jane Smiley bookgoodmasterpiece Change image and share on social
I readily admit it is easy to make of horses what we will. Silent, in some ways reserved, they allow us to train them, and to project our ideas upon them; to ride and drive them, and to make them symbolic, perhaps to a greater degree than any other species. Jane Smiley admitdegreedrive share on social
A theory of creativity is actually just a metaphor. A pool of ideas, a well of memories, a voice. Jane Smiley creativityideamemory Change image and share on social
I have reared, or helped to rear, five children and the scariest bit, bar none, is the learning-to-drive part. It has filled me with anxiety not only about the children, but also about my former self and my friends. Jane Smiley anxietybarbite share on social
One of the profound effects of economics in our day is that the people with the money and the power have embraced the guilt-free, external-less, everything-will-turn-out-okay-in-the-end philosophy of economics in order to justify their own evil works. And the economists, for the most part, have sucked up to that money. Jane Smiley dayeconomicseconomist share on social