My good friend, the poet Kofi Natambu, once said, "Contradiction is how we operate."

That's such a great book [Bloods]. That's a perfect way to articulate this thing that we're talking about. Just because someone is a black general, doesn't mean this person is going to have a certain outlook on it.

I'm very fortunate. I'm not much of a self-promoter or anything.

Sometimes I would get frustrated, I'd think, "You know, this is a good book, how come no one is paying attention to it?" So it's nice to have some recognition.

My dad fought in Korea. It was one of the first stories I remember hearing about.

I try to be accommodating, but I'm pretty much a loner.

It's all the same for me, how I teach, how I write, how I think.