25 Alice Munro Quotes for You to Enjoy

Alice Munro

Canadian Writer

Born: Jul 10, 1931

Life Me People Think Time You

Related authors: Charles de Lint Gavin McInnes Kelley Armstrong Laurence J. Peter Nathan Fielder Robert J. Sawyer Ryan North Stephanie Savage

The complexity of things - the things within things - just seems to be endless. I mean nothing is easy, nothing is simple. Alice Munro

Simple Nothing Complexity Easy Seems Within Endless Just Mean Things

The deep, personal material of the latter half of your life is your children. You can write about your parents when they're gone, but your children are still going to be here, and you're going to want them to come and visit you in the nursing home. Alice Munro

The stories are not autobiographical, but they're personal in that way. I seem to know only the things that I've learned. Probably some things through observation, but what I feel I know surely is personal. Alice Munro

Way Some Some Things Seem Only Through Observation Feel Know Learned Surely Personal Autobiographical Stories Things

'Royal Beatings' was my first story, and it was published in 1977. But I sent all my early stories to 'The New Yorker' in the 1950s, and then I stopped sending for a long time and sent only to magazines in Canada. 'The New Yorker' sent me nice notes, though - penciled, informal messages. They never signed them. They weren't terribly encouraging. Alice Munro

Time Me Long Long Time First Nice Though Signed Magazines Only Never New Messages Terribly Were Encouraging Canada Yorker Sending Stopped New Yorker Stories Informal Story Sent Them Notes Then Published Early Royal

'The New Yorker' was really my first experience with serious editing. Previously, I'd more or less just had copyediting with a few suggestions - not much. Alice Munro

Experience Editing First Few More More Or Less Had New Yorker Just New Yorker Much Really Less Serious Suggestions

Maybe I should say that memory interests me a great deal, because I think we all tell stories of our lives to ourselves as well as to other people. Well, women do, anyway. Women do this a lot. And I think when men get older, they do this too, but maybe in slightly different terms. Alice Munro

Great Me Memory Women People Great Deal Men Older Think Too Other Our Our Lives Say Slightly Ourselves Tell Terms Well Because Deal Lot Get Maybe Different Stories Anyway Interests Should Lives

People are more aware now of cities and of different ways of life. I suppose the writing I do is a bit in the past, and I'm not sure it's the kind of writing I would do if I were starting now. Alice Munro

Life People Writing Past Bit Ways Cities Kind Would More Suppose Sure Were Different In The Past Now Aware Different Ways Starting

While working on my first five books, I kept wishing I was writing a novel. I thought until you wrote a novel, you weren't taken seriously as a writer. It used to trouble me a lot, but nothing troubles me now, and besides, there has been a change. I think short stories are taken more seriously now than they were. Alice Munro

Me You Change Writing Seriously Thought Trouble First Nothing Think Books Has-Been Besides More Writer Troubles Taken Wishing Until Wrote Were Been Lot Five Than Short Stories Short Stories While Working Used Novel Now Kept

I got interested in reading very early, because a story was read to me, by Hans Christian Andersen, which was 'The Little Mermaid,' and I don't know if you remember 'The Little Mermaid,' but it's dreadfully sad. The little mermaid falls in love with this prince, but she cannot marry him because she is a mermaid. Alice Munro

Sad Love Me You Remember Reading Christian Marry Mermaid Prince Know She Him Read Because Got Falls Very Cannot Story Which Interested Little Early

In those early days, the important thing was the happy ending. I did not tolerate unhappy endings - for my heroines, anyway. And later on, I began to read things like 'Wuthering Heights,' and very, very unhappy endings would take place, so I changed my ideas completely and went in for the tragic, which I enjoyed. Alice Munro

Happy Ending Unhappy Important Heights Changed Heroines Later Those Would Take Days Like Ideas Read Important Thing Tragic Began Very Did Endings Anyway Place Which Happy Ending Tolerate Thing Enjoyed Things Early Early Days

I think any life can be interesting, any surroundings can be interesting. I don't think I could have been so brave if I had been living in a town, competing with people on what can be called a generally higher cultural level. Alice Munro

Life People Living Think Could Higher Generally Had Town Been Cultural Surroundings Brave Any Interesting Level Competing

I like gaps; all my stories have gaps. It seems this is the way people's lives present themselves. Alice Munro

People Way Seems Like Stories Themselves Gaps Lives Present

In many ways, I've been writing personal stories all my life. Alice Munro

Life Writing My Life Ways All My Life Been Personal Stories Many

One is lucky to be born in a place where no one is doing it, because then you can say, 'Well, obviously I can write better than everyone else in high school.' You have no idea of the competition. Alice Munro

You Competition Better School Else Everyone Everyone Else Say High Born High School No Idea Write No-One Idea Obviously Well Because Doing Than Where Place Then Lucky

Mothers and daughters generally have fairly complex relationships, and ours was made much more so by Mother's illness. She had Parkinson's disease, which was not diagnosed for a long time... All that made me very self-protective, because for one thing, I didn't want to get trapped. Alice Munro

Time Me Mother Made Long Long Time Trapped Relationships Complex Ours One Thing More Daughters Parkinson Generally Had She Fairly Because Diagnosed Mothers Very Get Disease Want Which Much Illness Thing

I think, often, people who run away are people who got into things most enthusiastically, and then they want more. They just demand more of life than what is happening in the moment. Sometimes this is a great mistake, as it's always a good deal different than you expect it. Alice Munro

Life Good Great You Mistake People Sometimes Think Run Enthusiastically More Demand Most Deal Always Got Expect Than Often Just Different Want Happening Then Moment Who Good Deal Away Things

Why do I like to write short stories? Well, I certainly didn't intend to. I was going to write a novel. And still! I still come up with ideas for novels. And I even start novels. But something happens to them. They break up. I look at what I really want to do with the material, and it never turns out to be a novel. Alice Munro

Out Something Write Never Come Like Ideas Look Well Material Still Up Intend Going Short Want Stories Break Break Up Short Stories Happens Them Really Turns Certainly Even Novel Novels Why Start

When you are young, you cannot imagine being disabled. You imagine you would conquer it somehow. As I've got older, I can imagine it; I can see how life narrows in. I feel compassion for my mother now. Alice Munro

Life You Mother Compassion Young Older Would See Somehow Disabled Feel Got How Being Cannot Conquer Now Imagine

I no longer feel attracted to the well-made novel. I want to write the story that will zero in and give you intense, but not connected, moments of experience. I guess that's the way I see life. People remake themselves bit by bit and do things they don't understand. Alice Munro

Life You Experience People Will Guess Way Bit See Give Remake Write Feel Longer Attracted Understand Intense Want Story Themselves Connected Moments Novel Zero Things

'Lives' is one of those books I should really have written when I was younger. It is the classic childhood, adolescence, breakthrough-into-maturity book. Every beginning writer has that material - and after that, you're not sure what you can do. Alice Munro

You Book Beginning Every Books Those Classic Adolescence Writer Written Sure Material Childhood After Younger Really Should Lives

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