When youre young you think that youre going to sail into a lovely lake of quietude and peace. This is profoundly untrue. – Doris Lessing
For the last third of life there remains only work. It alone is always stimulating, rejuvenating, exciting and satisfying. – Doris Lessing
What society doesnt realize is that in the past, ordinary people respected learning. They respected books, and they dont now, or not very much. That whole respect for serious literature and learning has disappeared. – Doris Lessing
I dont know much about creative writing programs. But theyre not telling the truth if they dont teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer. – Doris Lessing