Catherynne M. Valente Quotes

United States, Writer
May 5, 1979

Catherynne M. Valente is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Andre Norton, and Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the World Fantasy Award–winning anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with numerous Year's Best volumes. Her critical work has appeared in the International Journal of the Humanities as well as in numerous essay collections.

Also known as Poet

When the world changes, it stashes us away where we can't make it run the other way again.

Catherynne M. Valente
Punishment doesn't mean you aren't loved. On the contrary. You can only punish someone you love.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Mean
- Loved
- Punishment

Let us hold hands instead of let us hold kitchens. To say put our heads together and not put our parlors together. But it is not as simple as replacing words anymore. Ravan is gone. My hearth is broken.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Together
- Hands
- Hold
Everything living has a mouth. Mouths bite and swallow; they talk; they taste. They kiss. A mouth is the main tool for living.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Everything
- Living
- Mouth
Histories are instruments of oppression.

Catherynne M. Valente
And that’s how you begin to win over a child. People who share a secret share a heart.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Heart
- Child
- Win
That is what happens when a person lives alone for so long - no one else can change their ways.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Alone
- Person
- Happens
Funny how "question" contains the word "quest" inside it, as though any small question asked is a journey through briars.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Question
- Journey
- Word

You can't blame a book for its story.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Book
- Story
- Blame
A thing too familiar becomes invisible.

Catherynne M. Valente
The only price in the world that matters is the one that hurts to pay.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Pay
- Price
- Matters
Things I Will Try to Say More Often: Why? I love you. I’m sorry. May I have chocolate? Yes. yes. yes.

Catherynne M. Valente
- Love
- Sorry
- Say
The point's not what it costs; it's what it costs you. Everything you have. That's my price, that's my prize, that's my ransom, and that's my rune. The only price in the world that matters is the one that hurts to pay.

Catherynne M. Valente
- World
- Pay
- Price
How wonderful is ritual, what comfort in dark times!

Catherynne M. Valente
- Dark
- Times
- Comfort