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

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from...

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,...

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...

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 did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the...

You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for...

You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for...

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...

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...

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

Memory feeds imagination.

Memory feeds imagination.

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

I learned to forgive myself, and that enabled me to forgive my mother as a...

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 would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

I would still like to have that luxury, to be able to just sit and...

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 started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.

I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away.