Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is an American novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel A Thousand Acres (1991). Read full biography of Jane Smiley →
The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother... →
A love story, at least a convincing one, requires three elements - the lover, the beloved, and the adventures they have together.
A child who is protected from all controversial ideas is as vulnerable as a child who is protected from every germ. The infection, when it comes- and... →
There is a sociology of horses, as well as a psychology. It is most evident in the world of horse racing, where many horses are gathered together... →
All equestrians, if they last long enough, learn that riding in whatever form is a lifelong sport and art, an endeavor that is both familiar and new... →
Sometimes, a novel is like a train: the first chapter is a comfortable seat in an attractive carriage, and the narrative speeds up. But there are... →
With horses, familiarity breeds comfort. If you haven't been around horses for a while (or ever), the best thing to do is to go to the racetrack... →
Candy is my fuel. Ice cream, too.
I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and... →
English majors understand human nature better than economists do.
Somehow, knowing that Alzheimer's is coming mocks all one's aspirations - to tell stories, to think through certain issues as only a novel... →
Oh, that sound? I'm in the hot tub, reading a novel.
One of the profound effects of economics in our day is that the people with the money and the power have embraced the guilt-free, external-less... →