Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Summers Robinsonis an American novelist and essayist best known for her novels Housekeepingand Gilead...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth26 November 1943
CountryUnited States of America
mind doubt use
Christianity is a life, not a doctrine . . . I'm not saying never doubt or question. The Lord gave you a mind so that you would make honest use of it. I'm saying you must be sure that the doubts and questions are your own.
taken wish asking
I'm amazed at what I have taken for granted. How to truly take in our situation I don't know, but I wish I had started asking myself that question earlier than I did.
impulse disagree
I do have an impulse to sort of leverage what I say against something I disagree with.
praying intimacy praying-for-you
That is to say, I pray for you. And there's an intimacy in it. That's the truth.
prayer writing praying
For me writing has always felt like praying even when I wasn't writing prayers.
mind whole-life whole
You have to live with your mind your whole life.
would-be identical
...not deciding to act would be identical with deciding not to act.
hymns deals
I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.
four letters speech
I got four volumes of the letters and speeches of Oliver Cromwell. He is prominent among the great unread, and treated so oddly by history that I wanted to hear his side of things.
loneliness writing passion
Somebody who had read Lila asked me, ‘Why do you write about the problem of loneliness?’ I said: ‘It’s not a problem. It’s a condition. It’s a passion of a kind. It’s not a problem. I think that people make it a problem by interpreting it that way.’
effort mind surprise
Many times when I stop working on a problem consciously, my mind continues to work on it below the surface. Often solutions come on me quite by surprise. I've learned over time to allow that to happen, rather than to feel that I can simply solve the problem by continuous, grueling effort.
admirer believe best enjoy fact great innermost religion thoughts
I'm a great admirer of secularism. At its best, I think it's one of the best things that we have. I don't believe in insinuating religion into conversation. I don't believe in excluding it from conversation. I enjoy the fact that people's innermost thoughts are their own.
readers simply time work
Many readers know my work first through 'Housekeeping,' simply because it was my only novel for a pretty long time.
accepted agent bought editor experience
My first novel, 'Housekeeping,' was accepted by the first agent who read it, and bought by the first editor who read it. In general, my experience with publication has been gentle and gratifying.