“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your own hand. Aloneness was the air in your tires, the wind in your hair. You didn't have to go looking for it with open arms. With open arms, you fell off the bike: I was drinking my wine too quickly.”

American writer, critic, and essayist

Lorrie Moore is an American writer, critic, and essayist best known for her short stories. Since 1984, she has also taught creative writing. Her fiction has brought her major awards, and her work is widely associated with the short story form. Alongside her writing, she has maintained a long teaching career in creative writing, and her essays and criticism add to a body of work shaped by close attention to language and form.