It's a bad business, this writing. No marks on paper can ever measure up to the word's music in the mind, to the purity of the image before its ambush by language. Most of us awake paraphrasing words from the Book of Common Prayer, horrified by what we have done, what we have left undone, convinced that there is no health in us. We accomplish what we do, creating a series of stratagems to explode the horror. Mine involve notebooks and pens. I write by hand.
'Writers on Writing' [The New York Times, July 1999]
Use the link below to read about the life and work of North American novelist, memoirist and literary critic MARY GORDON:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Gordon_(writer)
You might also enjoy:
The Write Advice 122: ALICE HOFFMAN
The Write Advice 132: JOAN DIDION
The Write Advice 164: CATHERINE JINKS
