I've won all the prizes in Europe, every bloody one. I'm delighted to win them all, the whole lot. Doris Lessing bloodydelighteurope Change image and share on social
I see every book as a problem that you have to solve. That is what dictates the form you use. It's not that you say, 'I want to write a science fiction book.' You start from the other end, and what you have to say dictates the form of it. Doris Lessing bookdictateend share on social
What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have to say, 'Oh, what this really is is so-and-so,' reducing it to a simple formula. Doris Lessing fascinateformulaimagination share on social
The Nobel Prize is run by a self-perpetuated committee. They vote for themselves and get the world's publishing industry to jump to their tune. Doris Lessing committeeindustryjump Change image and share on social
It's very interesting what you don't care about. Doris Lessing careinterest Change image and share on social
I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look at a list and see anything that I want, or almost anything, is like a kind of miracle. Doris Lessing bookkindlist share on social
I think a writer's job is to provoke questions. I like to think that if someone's read a book of mine, they've had - I don't know what - the literary equivalent of a shower. Something that would start them thinking in a slightly different way, perhaps. That's what I think writers are for. Doris Lessing bookequivalenthave share on social
I'm not one of those writers that sits worrying about posthumous fame. Doris Lessing fameposthumoussit Change image and share on social
It usually takes me a year to do a book. A year or eighteen months. Doris Lessing bookeighteenmonth Change image and share on social