197 Quotes by Marge Piercy

Never let them know who you really are, how you live, and that you can observe and think, that was her motto.

Purple as tulips in May, mauve into lush velvet, purple as the stain blackberries leave on the lips, on the hands, the purple of ripe grapes sunlit and warm as flesh...

We admire predators – panthers, lions, tigers, even wolves. Maybe to be naturally thoughtful and hesitant to use violence is to be somehow second rate. To be in the middle of the social food chain. Especially if you’re a man. This society thinks real men are violent.

She would not be robbed of her ability to support herself, to do good work in the world, justly, compassionately.

I don’t find that writing about parts of my life had much effect except in some cases to improve my memory. To get into parts of the past I want to recall very vividly, I use a form of directed meditation.

A new idea is rarely born like Venus attended by graces. More commonly it’s modeled of baling wire and acne. More commonly it wheezes and tips over.

I am a driven writer. I feel guilty if I don’t write, not self-indulgent if I do.

Remember that every son had a mother whose beloved son he was, and every woman had a mother whose beloved son she wasn’t.

The art of fiction is one of constant seduction. You must persuade the reader on page 1 to start reading – on page 50, or page 150 and yes, on page 850.