But I don't really write to honor the past. I write to investigate, to try to figure out what happened and why it happened, knowing I'll never really know. I think all the writers that I admire have this same desire, the desire to bring order out of chaos.

I come out of a strong oral tradition in the South.

When you're a writer, you have to write these stories, even if you don't get paid

If I ever teach writing again, I’d say the first lesson is to listen.

Writing is the thing that props me up.

You have to watch out with my plays. They're like yeast. You think they're one thing, then all of a sudden subtext gets to working.

But I don't really write to honor the past. I write to investigate, to try to figure out what happened and why it happened, knowing I'll never really know. I think all the writers that I admire have this same desire, the desire to bring order out of chaos.