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.

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.

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.