People often ask me if I discipline myself to write, if I work a certain number of hours a day on a schedule. They ask this question with envy in their voices and awe on their faces and a sense of alienation all over them, as if they were addressing an armored tank or a talking giraffe or Niagara Falls. We want to believe that other people are natural wonders; it gets us off … [Read more...] about It’s not talent, it’s just work.
Go Do Some Great Thing
"What! Discouraged? Go do some great thing." Crawford Kilian, Go Do Some Great Thing; The Black Pioneers of British Columbia This quote is the opening page to Lawrence Hill's debut novel "Some Great Thing" - what are you reading or doing lately that inspires you to greatness? Further Reading: Go Do Some Great Thing; The Black Pioneers of British Columbia Some Great … [Read more...] about Go Do Some Great Thing
Start Over Again
People whose lives have been shaped by history—and it is always tragic— do not want to talk about it, would rather dance, give parties on thrift-shop china. You feel wonderful in their homes, two leaky rooms, nests they stowed inside their hearts on the road into exile. They know how to fix potato peelings and apple cores so you smack your lips. The words start … [Read more...] about Start Over Again
Draw a Larger Circle
I intend to do my part through the power of persuasion, by spiritual resistance, by the power of my pen, and by inviting the violence upon my own body. For what is life itself without the freedom to walk proudly before God and man and to glorify creation through the genius of self-expression? I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. When my brothers … [Read more...] about Draw a Larger Circle
Make a Bigger Pie
We’ve changed the way we think of ourselves as citizens. We don’t think of ourselves as citizens in the old sense of being small parts of something larger and infinitely more important to which we have serious responsibilities. We do still think of ourselves as citizens in the sense of being beneficiaries - we’re actually conscious of our rights as American citizens and the … [Read more...] about Make a Bigger Pie
