I think we all wear some kind of mask. There are masks that shield us from others, but there are masks that embolden us, and you see that in carnival. The shiest child puts on a mask and can do anything and be anybody.

I was able to not fold and go in a corner because I had my writing as therapy, but also as my tool for struggle.

To be able to create you have to have peace of mind on some level.

Write what haunts you. What keeps you up at night. What you are unable to get out of your mind. Sometimes they are the hardest things to write, but those are often the things that are worth investigating by you specifically. . .

Toni Cade Bambara said: “Writing is the way I participate in the struggle.”

The greatest gift anyone can give to a writer is time.

I think it is important to reach people through arts and literature, because then you establish a connection that's not an instant crisis.