American author (1947- )
When the stories are new I'm very affected by people's reactions to the stories. Over time, less so. I don't think anyone's ever convinced me something is really wonderful when I haven't liked it. You'd have trouble now convincing me that an early effort like "Dwarf House" was my best story. But with the early stories I wasn't getting much feedback, except from The New Yorker. And I was very young and thought The New Yorker must be right. Once a story had that stamp of legitimacy, I didn't need to question whether it was good.
ANN BEATTIE
The New Yorker Stories
Remember, things do not force, forge or fashion. They fall into place.
ANN BEATTIE
Chilly Scenes of Winter
Where there's no dogs, there's no meaningful life.
ANN BEATTIE
Walks with Men
I became disenchanted with New York when I realized that I felt as if I had accomplished something when I picked up the laundry and got the Times and a quart of milk. I spent a lot of time worrying about alternate-side parking. I lived on the fourth floor of a brownstone. If I had messed up and hadn't jockeyed my car to the right side of the street for the next day and somebody moved their car at four o'clock in the morning, it was an automatic response, in winter or summer, maybe I put my slippers on, but I would run down in my pajamas and get that place. All of a sudden I thought, This is absolutely ridiculous.
ANN BEATTIE
The Paris Review, spring 2011