Writing is really a way of thinking--not just feeling but thinking about things that are disparate, unresolved, mysterious, problematic or just sweet.

A man ain't nothing but a man. But a son? Well, now, that's somebody.

The language must be careful and must appear effortless. It must not sweat. It must suggest and be provocative at the same time.

You have to be willing to think the unthinkable.

Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were targets everywhere. They still are.

When you stiffen, you know that whatever you stiffen about is very important. The stuff is important, the fear itself is information.

Life that crawled, life that slunk and crept and never closed its eyes. Life that burrowed and scurried, and life so still it was indistinguishable from the ivy stems on which it lay. Birth, life, and death - each took place on the hidden side of a leaf.