I write to try to find out who I am. One of my main themes is manliness. I think I'm trying to figure out what manliness really is.
Ernest GainesNietzsche said without music, life would be a mistake. To me, without books, life would be a mistake.
Ernest GainesYou learn from music, from watching great athletes at work - how disciplined they are, how they move. You learn these things by watching a shortstop at work, how he concentrates on one thing at a time. You learn from classic music, from the blues and jazz, from bluegrass. From all this, you learn how to sustain a great line without bringing in unnecessary words.
Ernest GainesOnly when the mind is free has the body a chance to be free. Yes, they must believe, they must believe. Because I know what it means to be a slave. I am a slave.
Ernest Gaines