Language is the tool of my trade -and I use them all - all the Englishes I grew up with

Quote by Amy Tan

Topics: Language Quotes

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

No one in my family was a reader of literary fiction. So, I didn't have...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time...

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So...

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I...

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

I saw my mother in a different light. We all need to do that. You...

I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call...

I would find myself laughing and wondering where these ideas came from. You can call...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

I think I've always been somebody, since the deaths of my father and brother, who...

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not...

Memory feeds imagination.

Memory feeds imagination.

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should...

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist,...

The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading...

The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading...

I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I...

I loved fairy tales when I was a kid. Grimm. The grimmer the better. I...

I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was.

I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was.

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...

People think it's a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer's. But in my mother's case,...