Flannery O'Connor

People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.

Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn't try to write fiction. It's not a grand enough job for you.

Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I'm always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it's very shocking to the system.

Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it.

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you odd.

Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.

I don't deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue is always in it.

He loved her because it was his nature to do so, but there were times when he could not endure her love for him. There were times when it became nothing but pure idiot mystery...

Accepting oneself does not preclude an attempt to become better.

The old woman was the kind who would not cut down a large old tree because it was a large old tree.

Total non-retention has kept my education from being a burden to me.

Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.