Jane Yolen citations

“Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood.”

“Fairy Tales always have a happy ending.' That depends… on whether you are Rumpelstiltskin or the Queen.”

“Well,' the Goddess said, 'your heart didn't heal straight the last time it broke. So we'll break it again and reset it so it heals straight this time.”

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”

“A book is a wonderful present. Though it may grow worn, it will never grow old.”

“Time may heal wounds, but it does not erase the scars.”

“You can only chase a butterfly for so long.”

“Stories," he'd said, his voice low and almost husky, "we are made up of stories. And even the ones that seem the most like lies can be our deepest hidden truths.”

“You are a name, not a number. Never forget that name, whatever they tell you here. You will always be Chaya—life—to me.”

“The thing I want to know is, if you tell your brain not to do stuff… and it keeps doing it anyway, does that mean your mind has a mind of its own? And if it does, then who's in charge here, anyway?”

“Touch magic. Pass it on.”

“We all have such stories. It is a brutal arithmetic. But I - I am alive. You are alive. As long as we breathe, we can see and hear. As long as we can remember, all those gone before are alive inside us.”

“Part of her revolted against the insanity of the rules. Part of her was grateful. In a world of chaos, any guidelines helped. And she knew that each day she remained alive,. One plus one plus one. The Devil's arithmetic…”

“Folklore is the perfect second skin. From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world.”

“She hated to lie but she hated arguments even more.”

““I’ll drive. You navigate.” He grinned. “I judge people by how well they read maps.””

“Overhead the swallows dipped down to catch bugs rising from the ground. Then they soared back up beyond the barracks. Hannah watched them for a moment, scarcely breathing. It was as if all nature ignored what went on in the camp. There were brilliant sunsets and soft breezes. Around the commandant’s house, bright flowers were teased by the wind. Once she’d seen a fox cross the meadow to disappear into the forest.”

“Know, my son, that the enemy will always be with you. He will be in the shadow of your dreams and in your living flesh, for he is the other part of yourself.”

“It is not crazy to want to know the past. It is only crazy to live there, like so many of the aristocracy.”

“Wars may make heroes of men, but not all the time.”

““Will you write the story?”
“If there is one.”
“Happy ending or no?” He was serious.
She attempted a smile. “Fairy tales always have a happy ending.”
He leaned back in his chair. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you are Rumplestiltskin or the Queen.””

“Wars do not make heroes of everyone.”

“She filled the pot, got out a new filter, threw the old one onto the garbage, and counted out five tablespoons of Columbian Supreme. Then she waited while the magic of modern invention turned tap water into a hot dark-brown caffeine-powered drink. It was better than any Biblical miracle and risked no beliefs.”

““We are all sleeping princesses some time. But it is better to be fully awake, don’t you think?”…“Americans do not want to be awake?”
“Oh,” Becca said, “we like the truth all right. When it’s tidy.”
“Truth is never tidy. Only fairy tales.””

“There is no liar like the one who lies to himself. He has a fool indeed for an audience.”

“Madness also makes folks uneasy; they fear contagion.”

“Fifteen years can be a long or a short time, depending upon whether one is immortal or not.”