Amy Tan

Forever did not mean what it once had. Forever was what changed inevitably over time. ↗

— Amy Tan

#change

It's a luxury being a writer because all you ever think about is life. ↗

— Amy Tan

#so-true-for-me #beauty

...A painting was a translation of the language of my heart. ↗

— Amy Tan

#painting #art

Being a dominatrix gave me the ultimate power: to sing without self-consciousness. ↗

— Amy Tan

#inspirational #inspirational

I also thought of playing improvisational jazz and I did take lessons for a while. At first I tried to write fiction by making up things that were completely alien to my life. ↗

— Amy Tan

#also #completely #did #fiction #first

You can get sucked into the idea that, 'Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should do this. It will look good.' Or 'I'll write like this because it will impress that critic.' ↗

— Amy Tan

#critic #get #good #gosh #i

I used to think that my mother got into arguments with people because they didn't understand her English, because she was Chinese. ↗

— Amy Tan

#chinese #english #got #her #i

Words to me were magic. You could say a word and it could conjure up all kinds of images or feelings or a chilly sensation or whatever. It was amazing to me that words had this power. ↗

— Amy Tan

#chilly #conjure #could #feelings #had

The forbidden things were a great influence on my life. I was forbidden from reading A Catcher in the Rye. ↗

— Amy Tan

#catcher in the rye #forbidden #great #i #influence

Who knows where inspiration comes from. Perhaps it arises from desperation. Perhaps it comes from the flukes of the universe, the kindness of the muses. ↗

— Amy Tan

#comes #desperation #inspiration #kindness #knows