Josephine Humphreys

North Carolina · connected South Carolina · born or raisedBorn 1945

novelist

Born in Charleston
Studied at Duke University

Quotations with a citation

He talked about writing as not a career, but as something more important, as something that would be a part of your life forever.

I have this secret faith that almost anybody can write. If you read a lot, if you’re interested in people, you can write. We all have language. Every child has language. Work hard, read hard, and laugh a lot.

The South is a place of contradiction and mystery, and that’s why it’s a good place for writers. It’s also a place where storytelling is the primary mode of communication. We think in stories. We’re comfortable with stories.

Both of our islands are vulnerable to hurricanes and rising sea level, and will someday, no doubt, be inundated. A sense of impermanence is good for a writer.

Over time I’ve found that my strongest motive for writing is curiosity. I write in order to discover, and maybe to understand.