dori

“This is the thing a writer does, we claim everything around us: the wind, the earth, the collapse of a wave in the ocean, the sting of salt on a wound. We claim it and redefine it and turn it into something new.”
― Attenberg, Jaimie

“Sometimes we make art in the moment in relation to a trauma, when we need to make art about it in retrospect instead. Certainly, there is something to be said for the purity of the instant response, that flash of hot fire and emotion. But what if we let time pass, looking at an incident in the rearview mirror rather than at the moment of impact? We can wave goodbye to it, but still see it so clearly, captured in a pristine reflection. And what do we gain? Perspective, wisdom, and perhaps not acceptance—some things do not deserve to be accepted, after all—but at least a sense of calm. And then, perhaps, we’ll be ready to tell a more fully realized version of the story.”
― Attenberg, Jaimie

“Even the experience of writing a book is just making one mistake after another until you’re not anymore. Every day we sit down to work we swim in a sea of our own fuck-ups. On the shore is one good sentence.”
― Attenberg, Jaimie

“Even if I found (and still do find) sex thrilling, the act itself is always momentary. The books I wrote had the possibility to thrill others long after I had created them. I could make something that would last. To fuck was divine, but to write was eternal.”
― Attenberg, Jaimie