The Holocaust happened in Europe, and that's important to how it is viewed. Had Europeans done such a thing in the far corners of the earth, rather than on their own doorstep, it might not be mentioned in the history books.

I know that the fantastic amount of profit that people want to make on anything is damaging. And that none of us seem able to resist it.

I don't really do anything that isn't about writing, and I don't really know who I am if I'm not thinking about writing.

Habit gives endurance, and fatigue is the best night cap.

I've written a book about my mother, and I don't remember anyone going to Antigua or calling up my mother and verifying her life. There is something about this book that drives people mad with the autobiographical question.

People only say I’m angry because I’m black and I’m a woman.

It's very funny, American society: White culture can do all sorts of things and get away with it, but the minute a black person does it, it's interpreted in some way.