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You lose something in not being rooted, but you gain something by seeing the world differently. It's both a loss and a gift.
Claire Messud -
If you're reading to find friends, you're in deep trouble.
Claire Messud
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I'm not a writing group member, not a joiner in that way. I don't seek a wide swath of feedback.
Claire Messud -
I always feel as though I'm not quite Canadian enough for everybody.
Claire Messud -
For me, the watershed was Hurricane Katrina. If that didn't get people out on the streets, then what will?
Claire Messud -
If you're writing a thriller, and you don't make it compelling, then you've really not done your job. So it's easier for me not to set out with certain goals, and then I can't see them as unmet. It's like life generally: If I'm not aiming to be physically fit, then I'm not always thinking about being unfit.
Claire Messud -
Obama was the first president whose biography makes sense to me. He can walk into a room anywhere and find common ground with any person.
Claire Messud -
I'm a different person in French. I'm a different person in New York. I'm a different person in Canada.
Claire Messud
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Obstruction can be caused by so many factors - perfectionism, distraction, faltering confidence, external demands and pressures. At some point, of course, you've got to push through it all if you're to write, and if you don't, or can't, you're sunk.
Claire Messud -
What is the truth? Is it what you experience? Is it what I experience? Or is there some objective truth in between?
Claire Messud -
I wish I were a really good photographer.
Claire Messud -
In a globalised world, so many of us move around so much. You lose things, but you also gain things - or hope to gain them.
Claire Messud