My interest in language is steadfast, but I think each project and its accompanying intentions dictate how language must be used.

As much as I believe in the capacity for art to create change, and as much as being an artist is physically and emotionally challenging, there is ultimately something a bit comfortable about making art in the comfort of your own home.

I think white artists have a responsibility to be not only naming white supremacy, but to be using their power and privilege to support artists of color.

Children's books have great potential to reveal new possibilities to readers, because the intended audience is at an age of genuine learning.

I don't yet know what style will be required for my next novel, but my sense is that each book will involve a new relationship to language.

I used singing as a safety measure. I would pay attention to what songs the popular girls liked, learn those songs from the radio or library cassettes, and then "accidentally" sing or hum these songs in class. This would impress the girls, who would then defend me from the boys.

Writing about racism requires a directness that writing a love story does not.