Karen Cushman photo

Karen Cushman

Karen Cushman was born in Chicago, Illinois.

She entered Stanford University on a scholarship in 1959 and graduated with degrees in Greek and English. She later earned master’s degrees in human behavior and museum studies.

For eleven years she was an adjunct professor in the Museum Studies Department at John F. Kennedy University before resigning in 1996 to write full-time.

She lives on Vashon Island, Washington with her husband, Philip.

(source: http://karencushman.com/about/bio.html & http://www.arnenixoncenter.org/findin...)


“My pains are but trifling things compared to my joy.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“Me iudice, in my opinion, life is like juggling... Things come at you―balls, clubs, knives, sorrow, loss. Either you stand there and let them hit you or you throw them back pugnis et calcibus, with all your might.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“. . . . I cannot escape my life but can only use my determination and courage to make it the best I can.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“I want to remake the whole world; anything less is not worth the trouble.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“. . . she dreamed of nothing, for she hoped for nothing and expected nothing. It was as cold and dark inside her as out in the frosty night.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“I think sometimes that people are like onions. On the outside smooth and whole and simple but inside ring upon ring, complex and deep.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“She was not as stupid as some I have had, and better company, but still perhaps her going was for the best. She was not what I needed.""Because I failed," whispered Alyce in the shadows."Because she gave up," continued the midwife. "I need an apprentice who can do what I tell her, take what I give her, who can try and risk and fail and try again and not give up...”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“Saliva mucusque”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“I have developed a rash on my body where the rough cloth rubs on my skin. I wanted to take a bath, thinking that the dirt on my skin made the rash worse, but the bathing tub has been turned upside down and is being used as an extra table in the kitchen and i cannot have it until spring, so I just spread goose grease on my rash. The dogs are following me everywhere.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“I watched the early morning light pass over and through the windows of colored glass, leaving streaks of red and green and yellow on the stone floor. When I was little, I used to try and capture the colored light. I thought I could hold it in my hand and carry it home. Now I know it is like happiness-- it is there or it is not, you cannot hold it or keep it.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“Minds, like diapers, need occasional changing.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“Just because you don't know everything don't mean you know nothing.”
Karen Cushman
Read more
“Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life.”
Karen Cushman
Read more