A piece of cloth that is called "linen" has more validity than calling you and me "black" or "negro." "Cotton" has more validity as cotton than yours and my being "black."

Who you are is a mystery no one can answer, not even you.

In my writing, I'm often describing a universal situation. A situation in which human beings often choose to violate each other. Sometimes I happen to explore that in terms of the black/white dynamic. Generally, a white person does not like me to say, or does not like to be told, "You know, what you did was incredibly wrong."

I like melancholy. I like to pretend that I'm alone in the world and I'm just sort of abandoned.

The shadow of my mother danced around the room to a tune that my own shadow sang.

If you just sit there, and you're a writer, you're bound to write crap. A lot of American writing is crap. And a lot of American writers are professionals.

Every time I end a book, I look down at myself.