Joyce Carol Oates

Nothing is accidental in the universe - this is one of my Laws of Physics - except the entire universe itself, which is Pure Accident, pure divinity.

I should say, one of the things about being a widow or a widower, you really, really need a sense of humor, because everything's going to fall apart.

It seems disingenuous to ask a writer why she, or he, is writing about a violent subject when the world and history are filled with violence.

I have a naturally camp sensibility and a camp sense of humour. I love the icons that gay people love.

I laugh at absurdity hardest, then stories, then observations, then bearded men on roller skates.

The Internet is allowing us to get back to what's really more natural, which is that storytelling is a shared thing. It's our natural way to be communal.