I write fiction and I'm told it's autobiography, I write autobiography and I'm told it's fiction, so since I'm so dim and they're so smart, let them decide what it is or it isn't. Philip Roth autobiographydecidedim Change image and share on social
I'm not angry; I write about angry characters. When I'm doing that, I'm happy. Just like when I'm writing about Mickey Sabbath being lustful, I'm not feeling lustful; I'm happy. Philip Roth angrycharacterfelt Change image and share on social
Making fake biography, false history, concocting a half-imaginary existence out of the actual drama of my life is my life. Philip Roth actualbiographyconcoct Change image and share on social
To read a novel requires a certain amount of concentration, focus, devotion to the reading. If you read a novel in more than two weeks, you don't read the novel, really. Philip Roth amountconcentrationdevotion Change image and share on social
As for the kind of writer I am? I am who I don't pretend to be. Philip Roth kindpretendwriter Change image and share on social
I'm an Obama supporter. And if you're an Obama supporter, that means you had a hard time during the Bush years. Philip Roth bushhardmean Change image and share on social
I'm not good at finding 'encouraging' features in American culture. I doubt that aesthetic literacy has much of a future here. Philip Roth aestheticamericanculture Change image and share on social
Writing, for me, was a feat of self-preservation. If I did not do it, I would die. So I did it. Obstinacy, not talent, saved my life. Philip Roth diefeatlife Change image and share on social
I needed my life as a springboard for my fiction. I have to have something solid under my feet when I write. I'm not a fantasist. I bounce up and down on the diving board, and I go into the water of fiction. But I've got to begin in life so I can pump life into it throughout. Philip Roth beginboardbounce share on social
The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress. Philip Roth hellpaveprogress Change image and share on social
